Haven, the Free City

Welcome, traveler! Anything is possible in "Haven, the Free City." This is another game cover I did for Gamelords in the early 1980s. This depicts the gateway to the Free City, a spot of heavy traffic where all sorts of races, classes, occupations, and moral levels interact. The merchant offers you fruit as he points you to the broad street beyond the Gate. Meanwhile, petty thievery goes on in the crowd at the gate. To the lower left, someone is stealing a piece of fruit from a display. The sign is bastardized Greek/Italian and says "Poma Fraiska" which means "Fresh Fruit." You can see an elf and a hobbit in the lower right area of the image. The game offered you a variety of entertaining scenarios, from the "Thieves' Guild" to street fighting to organized criminal intrigues, all in a Renaissance-style environment. The title went in the parchment-like space in the top half.

"Haven" is brown ink and acrylic on illustration board, 11" x 14", January 1983. Clikonthepik for a larger view.