| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Additionally to that, there's a lot of different artist that works for Paizo with different art styles so there's a variety. The actual pathfinder comics itself for example has some quite graphic violence and body horror (especially the first 6 book of the first series).
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
PF2 is rife with cannibals, serial killers, cults, alien abominations, body horror mutants, and plenty of other things besides. It also has monthly adventure path releases, pretty much none of which I'd call G-rated.
There's just a little color in the art because it looks nice.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
The art in Pathfinder books (both in 1E and 2E) is obviously very nice. Still, it has a certain... flavour. Not sure how to describe it best: exaggerated? Cartoony? Comic-booky?
Pulp!
I can't speak to how Paizo does its art direction, but Wayne Reynolds has certainly helped shape the look and feel of Pathfinder since the beginning. He's also, to my mind, the artist with the most fingerprints over the original Eberron setting - a genuinely pulpy setting.
While pulp as a genre began when describing cheap and low-quality stories, it was quickly the birthplace of some of the greatest adventures! Conan, Lovecraft, Tarzan! I could be reading too much into art, but Reynolds' style has always sort of brought me into that world. Tales of derring-do, but also of dark and terrible secrets not meant for man. Obviously you tell the stories you want to tell, but the artwork of Pathfinder tends to put me in a place of pulp fantasy - the kind where the villain would jab a finger at the heroes hissing, "I had not believed you to live after my trap, but I much prefer to do this with my own hands!" before launching a sizzling lightning bolt at the party.
Yeah, I think the art that shows up in any given adventure path is probably a pretty decent indication of it's tone. Pathfinder has a baseline of PG-13, but it also has plenty of content which deviates from that baseline. PF2 is less edgy than PF1, but the edge is still there, it just has content warnings in front of it now like the aforementioned Abomination Vaults example.
The rules also lend themselves to fantasy super heroics, which is definitely a vibe. But you can dial that up or down to based on the level of play--flight, 30 foot verical leaps, and wall running all kick in around level 7 or 8. Just keep it below that if you want a grittier narrative vibe. And consider proficiency without level if you want a grittier mathematical vibe.
The comics have some pretty brutal and visceral scenes and lots of attitude and grime and grit while still being true to the Wayne Reynolds inspired Pathfinder style.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Something that might be throwing you off about Wayne's art is how visually cluttered it is. Pathfinder iconics can almost look like Rob Liefield characters with all the pouches, amulets, lanterns, and knicknacks. The people in the 5e Player's handbook tend to have their clothing, armor, weapons in hand, a dagger on their belt... And not much else. Maybe a small side satchel or a class specific tool like a holy symbol or spell component pouch. The Dune art you mentioned looks very clean. I don't even see belts on these robed figures. And of course Conan and his various love interests are essentially nude. There's certainly an aesthetic appeal to these images when viewed in a vacuum.
But objectively, they don't look like adventurers, or at least Pathfinders. Consider how much stuff goes into the basic adventurer's kit: a backpack, a bedroll, 10 pieces of chalk, flint and steel, 50 feet of rope, 2 weeks' rations, soap, 5 torches, and a waterskin. Then consider for hardcore camping you probably want a tent, additional rations, cook ware... Bags of holding are a thing but they are still one bulk saçks you need to carry.
Then consider what you might want access to in a fight. Everyone wants an emergency potion or two on their belt. Martials want a main weapon(s), a back up ranged option with accompanying ammo, something light in case they are swallowed. That's without touching alternative materials or damage types. Casters should have a staff in one hand and a bandolier full of scrolls, and probably a wand or two in their belt.
And that's just a basic d20 adventurer. Pathfinder adventurers have significantly more because of its magic item economy. You have 10 investiture slots and by level 10 you've probably filled most of them with magic amulets, rings, boots, belts, headbands... The Christmas Tree effect is alive and well. We might like to picture Conan for our player characters, but they look more like Cable and Deadpool when you visualize their actual inventory. Wayne's art reflects this.