what I would like to see

[Jürgen Mayer]

This has to be the best RPG visual design idea I've ever heard.

Thanks, but isn't that a totally obvious idea? It strikes me as odd that most RPG books still scatter artwork from different artists all over the place. The only reasons to do this are a) you want it that way (for whatever reason) or b) you have a tight art budget and therefore have to use what you can get.

As far as picking an artist to do the archetype portraits, my advice is make sure you get someone with a crisp, clean and recognisable style, so that readers do actually get some idea of what that Breed/Guild is all about. Also, it might be an idea to have the portraits depict either a) odd or unusual combinations of Breed and Guild, to show the variety possible and spark ideas (i.e. a Feral Artificer) OR b) common combinations, to illustrate traditional roles and mixes that work well together (i.e. a Junkman Bravo).

Seconded.

I'd like to see one or two more Guilds added, particularly ones with a more social/communicative role, like diplomats and/or messengers. I imagine there's a fair bit of call in the world below for individuals who can communicate easily with those in many other domains, as well as people who know quick, safe routes between them.

There's already a Guild with " people who know quick, safe routes between them", the Taggers. But messengers/diplomats are surely needed in the Underworld; they could be a subset of the Taggers Guild (if there are plans for sub-guilds?) or a Guild of their own that could also include people who transfer messages through magic or technicians who hijack phone lines and internet connections to use them in UnderWorld areas where the Radiance level allows it (heh, there could even be artificiers who are building steamtech robot messengers; an R2 unit built with a trashcan, anyone?).

Oh, and Gareth, keep the photos. They look great.

[GMSkarka]

Re: Social Guild--

We are adding at least one new Guild:  The Buskers (street musicians).  They fill the niche of the historical bards:  entertainment, news service, and messenger/diplomat.  More on this is coming in the column over at RPGnet in a couple of weeks.

Re: Photos--
Thanks, Jurgen.  Not only are we keeping the photos, we're adding a ton more.  It's the medium that I work in (I did a few in the 1st edition book), and I've also lined up a couple of new artists who also work digital, as well.

Re: Art Direction--

I'm not really into the idea of "lumping" artists together.  SCS tried that with The Last Exodus, and I'm not sure it was entirely successful there.  I think that if you can get your artists on the same page, thematically, there is no problem with variety throughout the book.

GMS

[Jürgen Mayer]

The Buskers (street musicians).  They fill the niche of the historical bards:  entertainment, news service, and messenger/diplomat.

Rock!

Not only are we keeping the photos, we're adding a ton more.  It's the medium that I work in (I did a few in the 1st edition book), and I've also lined up a couple of new artists who also work digital, as well.

Sounds good. The digital art of the guy who did the new cover fits UW well.

I'm not really into the idea of "lumping" artists together.  SCS tried that with The Last Exodus, and I'm not sure it was entirely successful there.  I think that if you can get your artists on the same page, thematically, there is no problem with variety throughout the book.

The reason why it didn't work with TLE is that the idea was there, but they didn't stick to it. The only chapter where they really did it was the history section. If you want to go with an idea, stick to it. (This sounds like "Design for Dummies," doesn't it?) I won't mind if you mix artists if the quality is top notch. But I would still advise to have the breeds'n'guilds illustrated by one (1) really good artist. (One for breeds and another one for guilds would be ok, too.) This section, where the players choose whom to play, has to have only the best artwork. If I see a picture of a breed, it has to jump out of the page and scream "PLAY ME!" If I show the book to a friend to get him interested in the game, and open it up at the artificiers guild, the picture has to make him go "I WANT TO PLAY ONE OF THOSE ARTIFICIER DUDES!"

[ReverendCuster187]

I would agree that the Breeds and Guilds need some really good artwork. One thing I like is when a number of different examples of each are presented on the page, kinda like the races in d20. Personally, I think that the style used for the Bravo, Navigator and Tagger (PARTICULARLY the Tagger) would be perfect, maybe smaller, with a few more examples.

[Eddy Fate]

Re: Social Guild--

We are adding at least one new Guild:  The Buskers (street musicians).  They fill the niche of the historical bards:  entertainment, news service, and messenger/diplomat.  More on this is coming in the column over at RPGnet in a couple of weeks.

Wow, this seems familiar - just like the old conversations on RPGnet a few years back.  :-)

Don't know if you covered this yet or not, but one thing I liked about the first ed but felt wasn't covered enough was the wonky "steampunk" garbage-tech.  The feeling that a certain device just shouldn't work adds a lot to the "alien yet familiar" atmosphere that really makes UnderWorld great.

But I will toss a "me too" out there - I also think the art direction looks phenom.