Erol Otus is an American artist. He is especially noted for his science fiction and fantasy inspired artwork. The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practising the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ...

Otus gained wide exposure for his work in early Dungeons & Dragons material, such as Deities & Demigods and the module "S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks." He developed covers and provided interior illustrations for many D&D adventure modules. Along with Jeff Dee, Jim Roslof, David S. LaForce, David C. Sutherland III and David A. Trampier, Otus is recognized as one of the first-generation D&D artists, providing artwork as settings for imaginary worlds and adventures. He has recently contributed artwork to the retro-style game lines HackMaster (published by Kenzer and Company) and Dungeon Crawl Classics (published by Goodman Games). Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) currently published by Wizards of the Coast. ... The cover of the first printing of the first edition, featured artwork by Erol Otus. ... Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a 1980 Dungeons & Dragons adventure module. ... Jeff Dee (born May 15, 1961) is an artist and game designer. ... Jim Roslof is an artist, noted for his artwork in fantasy role-playing games. ... David S. LaForce is an artist, noted for his artwork in fantasy role-playing games. ... David C. Sutherland III was an early Dungeons & Dragons artist. ... Dave A. Trampier is a former artist and writer who worked on some of the earliest editions of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Kenzer and Company (KenzerCo) is an Illinois based publisher of role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games. ... Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) is a series of roleplaying adventure modules published by Goodman Games under the d20 open gaming license. ... Goodman Games is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ...

Otus contributed many of the most memorable illustration to the Arduin series of supplements, from approximately 1977 to 1980. For the historical character, see Arduin of Ivrea. ...

It is a common misperception that Otus contributed artwork to the original Monster Manual. He did not. Current Monster Manual (v3. ...

As early as 1985, Otus went on to illustrate material for some computer games, such as Mail Order Monsters and Star Control II. Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Customizing a monster in the game involved equipping it and specifying its abilities. ... Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (officially II, often written as 2) was written by Toys for Bob (Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III) and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for PC; it was later ported to the 3DO with an enhanced multimedia presentation, allowed by the CD...

Otus currently works at Toys for Bob, along with his friend Paul Reiche III. Toys For Bob is a small video game developer founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. ... Paul Reiche III (born February 17, 1961) is a computer game designer. ...

Homages

In the Dungeons & Dragons adventure module "A4: In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords", part of the treasure on the slaver ships is a series of paintings by a supposedly famous Drow Artist named "Ool Eurts", an obvious anagram of Erol Otus. In the Dungeon of the Slave Lords is an adventure in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Look up Anagram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External links

• Official site
• Erol Otus at MobyGames
• Pen & Paper RPG Database listing for Erol Otus
• The Erol Otus shrine, fansite
• Erol Otus Home Page, another fansite