The section where I yap

“Magical interpretations to an Unknown World”. Every TTRPG needs to draw inspiration for the various encounters and ‘monsters’ in its world - in Ante 45 we hope to use mainly modern folklore and cryptids, instead of the traditional Gygaxian universe found within Dungeons and Dragons. A lot of these creatures tend to be barebones with its storytelling, and leaves a lot of expression from a creator to share fun ideas with the viewer - think ‘There is a Jackalope, what does an Elder Jackalope look like?”

“A fantastical world perceived realistically”. Artwork should feel like a 19th century artist’s depiction of what we as players and consumers know to be fantastical. We all know the Jackalope may not be a creature in real life, but in Ante 45 this cryptid is simply another creature among the many magical quirks in the West. Exaggeration for narrative is of course a simple expression of the beholder; an artist should depict the Jackalope and a coyote with similar amounts of expression.

“Movement and Storytelling”. Drawings should evoke some excitement or revelation from the viewer. The Jackalope should be holding onto a stolen bottle of whiskey it enjoys, the Loveland Frog should be pointing its (slime-shooting magical???) wand towards something, the Sasquatch should be kicking dust up with its large feet. Whether the viewer should feel intimidated or humored by the drawing is up to the discretion of the Artist.

“Black and Red to evoke Playing Cards”. The game is played from a deck of 52 playing cards for each player - the primary colors of the game are thus Black and Red. Symbols and representations should mostly be grounded in these two themes, with deviations for a strictly artistic purpose.

As of May of 2026, I have associated the aforementioned colors with the below themes:

Black: Cards [Spades, Clubs, Jacks, Kings, Aces] Physicality, Technology (Guns and Railroads), Death

Red: Cards [Hearts, Diamonds, Queens, Jokers] Spirituality, Magic (Auras and Spirits), Life