Chapter 15 Page 2

Chapter 15 Page 2 - http://bit.ly/1WQLic9

Whoah! That ogre sure is strong... but it's to be expected with those trunklike popeye arms and that thick core. Some of the strongest people in the world appear "strongfat" so to speak. Anyway, this kind of enemy makes for an ideal "early game" boss. He poses a threat just due to his brute strength, but his slowness and clumsiness keep him from being truly deadly. Especially dealing with those stubby legs. Nell has the right idea in targeting that weakness.

Chapter 15 Page 1

Chapter 15 Page 1 - http://bit.ly/1EdB1kc

This is only the second time that Caldwell has drank one of his own potions, the first time being during the exam when he drank a healing potion. In case you were curious he's brought along healing potions for this dungeon too, only he's keeping them separately in his pack so as to not mix them up. Someone's bound to get hurt during the fight, so you'll definitely see him pull them out.

Chapter 14 Page 33

Chapter 14 Page 33 - http://bit.ly/1IOtrJd

Originally the entire dungeon and boss battle was scripted to be in a single chapter... but, considering how long it's taken me to complete chapter 14 (and 33 pages) I felt it was prudent to extend the fight into the next chapter.

Regarding the update pace... for those reading after the fact it won't be as apparent, but it's taken nearly a full year to complete these 33 pages. On my original update pace it would have taken 2-3 months. I've gotten back to three pages a week now for the past two weeks and i've been much happier for the fact.

Anyway Ogres! I'll talk more about this species of monster during the actual bossfight pages, but I can give a tidbit of info here as well. As a humanoid type ogres are considered intelligent and self aware, but unfortunately rank among the lowest in terms of actual intelligence and cleverness. From a writing standpoint this lets me use them as lower level enemies that are easily outsmarted, but carry a level of danger due to their brute strength. Here's to hoping none of the cast get turned into jelly!

Chapter 14 Page 32

Chapter 14 Page 32 - http://bit.ly/1Wd79Kk

The imp's character really hasn't developed since his introduction, and on this page he's flatter than ever.

Chapter 14 Page 31

Ch14 Page 31 - http://bit.ly/1T6iHA4 

I ended up drawing a lot more Briar this chapter than I expected... but she's ended up being quite an ostentatious character. Anyone familiar with the writing process will understand when I say that. Sometimes a character just stands out in your writing process and forces their way into the script/story. I really enjoy it though, so you won't hear me complaining about it. This does happen more often than I like to admit, however. Sophia was largely the same way in that she began as a one-off side character who quickly grew on both myself and my reading audience such that I felt compelled to add her to other scenes in the story. The Colosseo wasn't even going to get a chapter to itself before Sophia was written so strongly into the plot. I get the feeling that Briar will end up similarly.

Ch14 30

Chapter 14 Page 30 - http://bit.ly/1W47ZsV

I apologize for how squished this page came out, but I absolutely needed them to be facing the dungeon boss within the next 4 pages or I was going to lose my mind. I'm somewhat worried that the urgency of following the imp into the dungeon room was lost because of pacing. They're in big trouble if it summons another air elemental alongside the boss. If the battle becomes too difficult they'd have to abandon the dungeon. These kinds of complex underpinnings are tough enough to portray in a normal comic or graphic novel, but in a webcomic setting it's extremely tough. I hope the feeling is still lingering from that panel where Caldwell realized the danger they were in.

This is also the first time Caldwell is having someone else drink a potion. I wanted an exchange like this to happen back during the first exam, but couldn't fit it in. Seriously though, with how he's been acting it's no shocker that Briar is a little hesitant. Did he even remember to label them this time?

Ch14 28-29

Chapter 14 Page 28 - http://bit.ly/1guQC4d - Chapter 14 Page 29 - http://bit.ly/1DljXII

Hmm, what's this? A mysterious figure in the fog? I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably nothing.

Here we see the boss door of the garden dungeon. Amusingly the last boss door we saw in the comic was from June 13 2013, a span of just over 2 years. Clearly this comic needs more dungeons! Or more bosses? Nah, just more page updates I think. The concept of a dungeon boss is possibly the most "gamey" thing in the setting of Spellcross. As I was constructing the plot and lore of Spellcross, dungeon bosses quickly became a central idea. The logic went like this: dungeons have infested the land, dungeons are full of monsters, monsters are fed energy from the dungeon core, the dungeon core is protected by a boss monster. Therefore in order for an adventurer to complete their mission and return with the core, they must defeat a dungeon boss.

Thematically this allows a buildup to a climax as the characters struggle under the harsh conditions of battle inside the dungeons. They have to manage their stamina and essence level as they fight, or risk tiring out during the boss fight. They might experience terror at the prospect of encountering such a powerful monster, or the stress might push them to new heights. Imagine if none of this were present and the characters just waltzed into the core room at the end of a dungeon. Boring!

Ch14 27

Chapter 14 Page 27 - http://bit.ly/1ltXuc1

Here's the first big earth spell since Grey's Stone Gauntlet! Grey didn't have a very good grasp of earth magic in the dungeon exam, so the best he could do was stick together a bunch of rocks on his arm and make them shatter when he punched something. In this case, Bram uses earth magic to crack the ground under the air elemental and cause it to explode violently upward.

There's a bit of a challenge when thinking about earth magic compared to others. For fire, water, and wind magic it's very easy to imagine these elements appearing out of thin air when created by magic. For earth magic, it's most common to imagine the spell coming from the ground. It's a little more weird when earth appears out of thin air... for whatever reason. The most common earth spells of the top of my head are the classic earth spikes, causing an earthquake, making a hole in the ground, or throwing rocks. Kind of dull when you think about it, which is why I've designed earth mages to be close quarters fighters, and also made earth magic the main "enhancement" type of magic to spice things up.

Ch14 26

Chapter 14 Page 26 - http://spellcross.smackjeeves.com/comics/2155301/ch14-26/

It goes without saying, but elementals have the ability to return themselves to their basic element to move around or evade damage. Higher ranked elementals can completely shapeshift if they chose and take on more fearsome appearances, or disguise themselves as humans. Oh, and did you recognize these exploding stones from way back in the Dungeon Exam? Caldwell used them to stun the wolf, but it ended up stunning Grey instead. Turns out they worked really well when caught up in the Air Elemental's wind barrier.

Ch14 25

Chapter 14 Page 25 - http://bit.ly/1NovE1G 

 Another "inbetween page" unfortunately, but necessary. It's been surprisingly fun to draw the wind effects coming off the air elemental, I designed the elementals but haven't really drawn them in action yet. I'm excited for higher ranked elementals to appear further down the line.

Ch14 24

Chapter 14 Page 24 - http://bit.ly/1JMX94C 

 Another "inbetween" page, but I felt it was important to inform the readers about some properties of Abnormal monsters such as the imp. And so I could draw Caldwell freaking out again, he's been happy and confident for too long now (kidding, kidding. But seriously). 

 I had a friend mention how it felt kind of silly for the elemental to be sitting there while people are talking, but it's important to remember the passage of time is different when reading comics compared to, say, a movie or show. Characters talking takes up very little "space" in time, such that you can have conversations like in DBZ or Bleach where they're flying around attacking each other and also having long conversations. Or charging up their ultimate attack for four chapters, you know. Some might say this is stupid and feels cheesy. While it's tempting to have a more realistic passage of time when writing for a comic, I feel that a particular kind of pacing is really important. Comics are a medium that you read, backed up by the images in each panel. Forsaking dialogue to have a more realistic feel could lead to a very boring comic, so a balance needs to be reached.

Ch14 23

Chapter 14 Page 23 - http://bit.ly/1BUMaja

So, Elementals... I've encountered them in fantasy most often appearing as humanoids that are made out of whatever element they represent. I find that to be kind of boring, personally. I'd much rather see elementals as linked to animals or monsters, or like summons from the Final Fantasy series where different elements have a creature that represents it.

In Spellcross, there are dimensions of pure elements called the Planes. There's one for each of the four cardinal elements, so a Plane of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Fire elementals resemble canines, water elementals resemble birds, air elementals resemble lizards, and earth elementals resemble bovines. I wanted to go with different animals than what classically represent the elements (i.e. salamander for fire), and I'm happy with the designs I've ended up with. The elementals lie on the same Arcana Rank scale as other monsters and their bodies change drastically between lower to higher ranked ones, with Elemental Gods sitting at the highest rank. If you want a brief look at a Fire Elemental, check the Tales from Spellcross page where a summoner calls one to battle.

Ch14 22

Chapter 14 Page 22 - http://bit.ly/1RilAcH 

 Abnormal types (which, again, includes Demonkin like the Gardener here) are so named because they have different properties from other dungeon monsters. The main thing is that they can come and go as they please, so you might imagine the gardener walking around the dungeon watering the plants, all the while being ignored by the monsters scattered throughout. It's a fun mental picture, for me anyway. Just think about this little guy spreading some water around on the Predator Vine the group just defeated. Maybe it'd smile a little bit with that grotesque mouth. 

 Anyway, abnormals often occupy the deadly "wandering monster" role in more dangerous dungeons. For those rooms not blocked by barriers, they could enter at any time to attack the adventurers, even when they're occupied with other monsters. Since demonkin also possess cruelty and intelligence, more sinister ones can plot against the adventurers and lay traps further into the dungeon. Scary!

Ch14 21

Chapter 14 Page 21 - http://bit.ly/1KplIX2 

 You might be wondering why there's a well kept garden in a monster infested dungeon. Well... the answer isn't easy for me to explain, and would be some pretty serious story spoilers. Suffice to say that not all dungeons are caves and castles, there'll be some pretty interesting and varied locales. This is also yet another time that I've become really attached to a monster or side character, I love drawing this little guy. He'll be sticking around for a number of pages yet, but I'll still be sad to see him go. 

 This actually reminds me, one thing I always aim for in my writing is for every character to be interesting or dynamic. There shouldn't ever be a "filler" character as far as I'm concerned. Even if they only appear for a few pages, I want the reader to see them and how they act and wonder about their personality, their motivations, etc. In this case it's just a tiny little imp, but you might wonder just how long he's been tending the garden. How much does he care about his plants? Where'd he get those dapper gardening clothes?

Ch14 19-20

Chapter 14 Page 19 - http://bit.ly/1cbVKHO - Chapter 14 Page 20 - http://bit.ly/1HnpsqZ 

 Hey, it's a new monster type! I'll be posting a bestiary page on Abnormals in time ($5 patrons will get to see it on the lore tumblr), but 'til then here's a quick rundown. Abnormals are monsters with high intelligence that are known to use magic and gain greater strength from the Dungeon Core than other types. There's two major classifications of Abnormals, demonkin and dragonkin. Demonkin form into hierarchies based on their size, strength, and magical power while Dragonkin are ranked solely on their age. This little Imp is of the lowest class of demon, but even the weakest demon can cause a lot of trouble.

Ch14 18

Chapter 14 Page 18 - http://bit.ly/1Ke73Kz 

 Time for a fun mini-discussion about spellcasting. There hasn't been any actual discussion on the act of casting spells in-comic, so I hope you all will enjoy it. While considering the magic system for Spellcross, I put a heck of a lot of thought into how I wanted to approach it. There's D&D styled magic which is based on memorization and strict somatic/vocal components with reagents, there's Wheel of Time styled spellcasting that kills you as you use it, etc etc. My main concern was crafting a spellcasting system that was both freeform (allowing for characters with highly specialized casting styles) and still adhered to a classic elemental wheel. There's also the "mp bar" of sorts with one's essence pool from which they draw the energy to cast a spell. It all comes together in what I hope will be a coherent and engaging system of magic. Things are still low powered right now in the story, but soon you might get to see some more complicated, over the top spells...

Ch14 16-17

Chatper 14 Page 16 - http://bit.ly/1Fv4Hn3 - Chapter 14 Page 17 - http://bit.ly/1IAe9vy 

 Not much to say about page 16 other than it was fun drawing all that wind. Page 17 features more of Briar's tsundere charms, which frankly never gets old. Some might feel this character type is too predictable, which I can admit. It's okay to have some predictable characters around, those ones you can rely on to react a certain way to situations. Briar's just like that. Also worth noting that this is the first good shot of Nell's broom/staff, being used as an actual broom. I imagine her broom to be like one of those decorative straw brooms that people with country sensibilities put in their houses, but that can't actually sweep much of anything.

Ch14 14-15

Chapter 14 Page 14 - http://bit.ly/19ArXYN - Chapter 14 Page 15 - http://bit.ly/1Bpq4DP 

 Only four panels on this page, but I felt like the mini fire explosions going off inside the "fire bane" cloud was more important to illustrate than the resulting big explosion. I always think of pages like this as happening in animation rather than static images. Maybe some day there'll be an adaption, wouldn't that be something? Also worth mentioning that I've lifted a lot from the Salve-Maker job of Bravely Default for Caldwell's battle alchemy. I think that sort of active combining of ingredients to get an offensive effect is really fun. Will he be able to pull it off consistently in battles with monsters? Probably not...

Ch14 13

Chapter 14 Page 13 - http://bit.ly/1CoaeQE 

 Ahh big special attacks... I could expound for hours on my love of super moves and special attacks. The concept of named special moves that have a bigger, better version with something like "ultra" or in this case "symphony" on the end, whew! It gives me chills. Anyway, when it comes right down to it all these C rankers are just using multiples of the same spell before when they use a "big" move, so it's really not that impressive. I imagine it like someone exercising does a few pull-ups, but if they really bust it out they can do five pull-ups really fast and leave themselves tired afterwards. Or maybe a punching bag is a better metaphor? I'm just rambling now, I'll stop.

 Here's one of my favorite super moves, check out all the EX Burst attacks from Dissidia if you want a really good idea of the kind of finishing attacks I like :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiu7MY_Q_Og

Ch14 12

Chapter 14 Page 12 - http://bit.ly/17RBrxa 

 Pages like these are where I really wish I could release Spellcross in a weekly or monthly format. Ideally this series of actions would've been about two pages, where Bram and Nell both visibly hold back from attacking while Briar is dangled over the Vine's gaping maw. I've learned when and where I can condense things like action and dialogue, though. Earlier chapters involving the first dungeon exam went on longer than they really should've because I kept the action at an "ideal" length instead of trying to condense. The result is that it reads really well, but it took more than half a year to complete that part of the story. Some might say the action feels rushed here, and I might agree, but it's a necessity for the story to keep chugging along. I really want to finish Spellcross before I die of old age, y'know?

Ch14 11

Chapter 14 Page 11 - http://bit.ly/17hV7dr 

 Ahh it's nice to be drawing action again. These kinds of pages are always my favorite to draw. Commentary may be sparse in these sorts of action pages, but I can at least default to talking about composition and such. One thing to consider in a page like this is when to apply speedlines, and when it's necessary to draw a background. In panel 3 there's a full background to set the scene of the action. In panel 4 immediately after, we have zero background with all speedlines. The last panel then has a mix, to give more depth to the vine reaching out to grab Briar's ankle. I don't generally sit and craft these angles very precisely, it's more like I have a clear image of how the action flows in my mind and pick the key "shots" to transfer into panels.

Ch14 10

Chapter 14 Page 10 - http://bit.ly/17mPpXh 

 Let's talk monster design a little bit! In this day and age, it's difficult to come up with something truly original in terms of enemies and monsters in fiction. Spellcross itself is derivative of all the games I've played and loved in my life, so I draw a lot from experience when I design a new monster. For this nature themed Garden dungeon, it's only natural (sorry) that a plant type monster would appear. Now, plant type monsters... what springs to mind immediately is a piranha plant from the Mario games. There's only so many ways to draw a plant with teeth, after all. Maybe the plant from Little Shop of Horrors comes to mind? 

 Anyway, in designing this monster I had to make sure it wasn't too "badass". We're still only in Rank C after all, so there has to be room to grow. In this case the big ol' lips and drool add enough goofiness to offset the fearsome teeth.

Ch14 09

Chapter 14 Page 09 - http://bit.ly/1Kda9zm 

 There was a lot of speculation over what this Scan spell would be in the comments of the previous page, which made me really happy. People are actually paying attention to how magic works in my story! One of the things that careful readers will begin to notice over time is that different wizards come up with different ways to achieve their goals through magic. In this case, to scout out a hidden monster the perfect method would be remote viewing via scrying. For someone without scrying however, Bram's method of using a shockwave works almost as well. When it connects with a monster, it becomes outlined in light. Other methods might involve magic to modify one's sight and see in a heat/infra spectrum, or a weak damaging spell that covers a wide area to flush them out. Also, don't miss the pobba in panel 3! These little guys are harmless monsters crossed over from my friend GigasT's comic Risk Hunter K. They'll be hidden around any time the story gets to a wooded area.

Ch14 08

Chapter 14 Page 08 - http://bit.ly/1umsb9h 

 The Goddess has already been mentioned a few times now, but not properly introduced. As with all things that haven't been fully explained yet, it's being saved for later. Short explanation is that she's the Goddess of Magic who blessed the world with life and essence long ago, who still watches over her creation. A common phrase is "By the goddess", the Spellcross equivalent of "Oh my God", as well as "Goddess grace you" to politely finish a conversation or wish a blessing on someone. You might remember the Teleportation attendant from the first dungeon exam saw the party off with "Goddess grace you on your quest." This'll show up more times later on as well.

Ch14 07

Chapter 14 Page 07 - http://bit.ly/1ylOC5s 

 This page has a little more exposition on the nature of the dungeons. While scripting, I tried to think of the most obvious questions a reader might have regarding dungeon exploration. At this point in the story they're still mysterious places, and any assumptions the reader would have are tied to dungeons from RPGs and other video games. Playing off of that, one of the first questions might be "What if they break a wall / tunnel through", or possibly "Why don't they just teleport to the boss room." First one's addressed here, second one maybe some other time. 

 Now, any correlations to video games should not lead the reader to thinking "I bet this is all inside a video game!" Despite the heavy RPG influences, I can 100% confirm that the story is NOT going to go in that direction. As much as I love tales of players inside fantasy realms (dothack, log horizon, etc) this story is not intended to be one of them. Though, if I ever make a long post about the history and origins of Spellcross, I'll get to talk about how it was originally that kind of story years and years ago, before it had a proper name.

Ch14 06

Chapter 14 Page 06 - http://bit.ly/1BcT2ed 

 Spellcross factors very heavily on the concept of dungeons, a well established aspect of RPGs since their inception. Many games I've played over the years have gone into crafting the lore of Spellcross, creating an amalgam of things I love about exploring them. Dungeon themes, monster spawns, a dungeon boss guarding the exit and a chest of loot; all of these things have appeared in games I've played and loved. Transferring the dungeons into a "real" setting, where the characters are battling for their lives in them is the absolute core concept of Spellcross. The naming scheme is un-apologetically lifted from dotHack, I have to admit. I loved the dungeons in that game as well. It always gave me a thrill to see what name the random dungeons would have, and added weight to the story-specific dungeons where important boss characters were waiting. Hidden Forbidden Holy-Ground... I mean, if an area like that was just a place name, it wouldn't have the same impact. 

 The dungeons in Spellcross get a three-part name as well, given when a Scryer inspects the dungeon from afar. The first two describe the environment, and the third the overarching dungeon theme. Monsters will almost always fit the theme of the dungeon, such as with the zombies and spider from the first dungeon. Maybe we'll see some Nature themed monsters coming up? It seemed more appropriate to introduce this naming scheme with the second dungeon rather than the first in order to keep the feeling of ignorance and helplessness during the dungeon exam. I hope in time people will have a "favorite dungeon" from the comic, and it'll have an ultra cool name to go with it.

Ch14 05

Chapter 14 Page 05 - http://bit.ly/1FA7HEk 

 I still haven't taken time to explain Alchemy in depth, but it might still be a while before I do. Most people reading the comic have at least a basic idea of what alchemy does, the same way they understand magic and spells. Because of this I've held off on a big information dump, since it'll be just plain tiresome to read all at once. Instead I like to write little blurbs like this, where Caldwell talks about alchemy and items/materials he's used and how he used them.

Ch14 04

Chapter 14 Page 04 - http://bit.ly/1tK8fm1 

 And here we have the current dungeon group! Ah, this is a good time for me to elaborate a little on character roles. In MMO's, players typically take a role of either a Tank, Healer, or DPS (what's called the "holy trinity"). I wanted this kind of class based system to be represented in Spellcross, but the concept of "monster aggro" is very game-centric and doesn't make much sense in a realistic setting. So to that end, the adventurer types in Spellcross fall into four groups: Frontline, Support, Ranged Damage, and Direct Damage. Frontliners are those who face monsters directly and make sure they don't get to the other group members. Damagers are self explanatory, and Support wraps up both healer types and those like Nell here who disable monsters, as well as guys like Caldwell who don't fit neatly into the other groups.

 These roles differ from an adventurer's class in that a class does not directly determine a role when it comes to forming a dungeon group. Briar likes to be up in monsters' faces, so she chooses Frontline. Other Spellswords might prefer the Direct Damage role in order to pick their strikes and avoid taking damage. Roles also apply when someone wants to challenge a dungeon, but doesn't have a premade group to go with. 

 Sidenote, you can't see it yet, but Nell follows so-called "witch fashion" and casts her spells with a broom. It's made out of the same materials a staff would, so it's really just an aesthetic thing.

Ch14 03

Chapter 14 Page 03 - http://bit.ly/1tBtFw8 

 Whoah! Caldwell made a fireball! For those who were paying attention to the plot so far, this is obviously the culmination of Caldwell's research involving his alchemy weapon. There'll be an in-comic explanation later on, for now don't stress the details too much. Let's just say he's using the fire gem from the first dungeon boss in a way that lets him create fireballs like the ones it shot from its mouth. It's magic for the magically impaired! It should also be said that I love drawing magic in action. These types of pages are always my favorite. Coming next page, proper re-introductions for the current cast!

Ch14 02

Chapter 14 Page 02 -http://spellcross.smackjeeves.com/comics/2068951/ch14-02/ 

 Nell's signature spell is called "Icy Bubble". As a support spell it's super helpful; it creates a sphere out of a thin layer of ice, which is full of freezing water. When something touches the bubble, it shatters and sprays the freezing water in that direction, covering whatever touches it in a layer of ice. The actual damage is low, but the explosion can send a monster careening away, and when it lands it'll be disabled by the ice covering its body. Nell can only make one bubble at a time, but with careful positioning it becomes a strong support spell. That's utility, folks! You can also see a better view of Caldwell's new coat here. I'll elaborate on his design more when there's a proper view of it a few pages from now.

Ch14 01

Chapter 14 Page 01 -http://spellcross.smackjeeves.com/comics/2068351/ch14-01/ 

 Well, I hope any of my current readers will see the difference between the old style and the new here. I'm utilizing more layers, as well as digital tools I've disregarded in the past such as blurring and filters. I'm also working at a much higher res than before, so when the page is reduced to post it looks much cleaner and more crisp. I'm still finishing pages in a good timeframe as well, so consider this the new standard moving forward. Content wise, well, as the introduction after a long break there's going to be a few pages of lead-in to the chapter. Non-patrons might still be in the dark, but you all know that the girl fighting here is Briar wielding her spell-knife. As an air mage she has access to some cool spells, but this I'll talk more about that in the coming pages.

Ch14 Title Page

Chapter 14 Title Page - http://spellcross.smackjeeves.com/comics/2067765/chapter-14-dungeon-run/  

So, here's the inaugural post of artist commentary! I'll be sharing my thoughts on pages when they get uploaded, and sometimes reveal some lore snippets and secrets. The keen eyed may have already noticed some costume changes for the new chapter! Briar's ditched the school uniform kerchief for a hooded cloak, and while it's being obscured by the title, Caldwell's coat has changed as well. Bram's as dark and mysterious as ever, though. The pink haired girl in the back is a new character named Nell, an Ice Mage. Creating her has been a lot of fun, and I'm excited to draw her more. I've been accused of filling my webcomic with too many cute girls, but if that's a crime then guilty as charged, lock me up.