Nahual: Great RPG Covers

#RPGCovers Week Fourteen

Nahual (2021)
Edgar Clément

One of the best things to happen in the last decade in ttrps has been creators from outside the US/Canada/Europe cultureplex getting more attention and access. That still has a long way to go but what those creatives have brought is new themes, elements, and illustrative sensibilities. That’s part of why I dig the Nahual cover. 

But its also pretty f*cking cool in its simplicity. The title sits in the middle of drawn elements, mirrored, with a style suggesting Mexican art and decoration. It frames up the mask face of our main character. It is wild, animalistic and reminds me of masks from Polynesia, Japan, and Bali. Look closely at the tiny lines and patterns there– because the mask wearer is looking back at you, making eye contact. They don’t care about your approval– they’re going to do what needs to be done. 

Their blade, more a machete than a fancy sword, is half-drawn, a clean silver against the brown and blacks of their outfit. We see some other colors– red, orange, gunmetal with the bandoliers of bullets and shells. This figure is outfitted and prepared for what must be done. 

And maybe you don’t notice or realize immediately what that is. At first glance you might think the yellow circle is a pool of light. Then you realize it’s a figure. It’s an alabaster-skinned angel with flowing locks. And it is done. Because that’s what this game is about: desperate underdogs hunting conqueror angels, killing them, and then using them to survive in a nasty, oppressive world.