Vincent N. Darlage
AKA Adilbrand Noblesword

"Let no man read here who lives only in the world about him.  To these leaves, let no man stoop to whom Yesterday is as a closed book with iron hasps, to whom Tomorrow is the unborn twin of Today.  Here let no man seek the trend of reality."
                                        ~Robert E. Howard, Etchings in Ivory,  1928

Hello.  I am Vincent N. Darlage.  Some of you know me as Adilbrand Noblesword.  I am the creator of Inzeladun.  I am an artist.  I draw, and recently I have been learning to paint.  Most recently I have been writing material for Mongoose's Conan RPG.  I have written The Road of Kings, Across the Thunder River, Shadizar - City of the Wicked, Aquilonia - Flower of the West, and Hyboria's Fiercest - Barbarians, Borderers, and Nomads for the Conan line. I have contributed material for The Scrolls of Skelos, Pirate Isles, and Free Companies, as well as written Conan-related articles for Signs and Portents.

I am also a fan of the writings of Robert E. Howard, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and JRR Tolkien.  I enjoy collecting rare books and comic books.  I like Conan the Barbarian stories and have a complete collection of Conan the Barbarian comic books.

My favorite painting by Frazetta

I like to listen to soundtracks (especially Star Wars) and KISS.  I like classical music as well (particularly Wagner and Liszt).  I like Betty Page, Toyota Celicas,  chess, Doctor Who, old Universal monster movies and ...

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS!

I have a degree in Accounting from the IU School of Business and was born in August of 1970, making me a Leo!  (I love being a Leo).  My aura is lavender in color, with a strong hint of indigo. 

Lately I have been listening to a lot of Rammstein, and I, for one, really enjoyed The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie.  I have artwork posted at Elfwood, if you are interested. I have some drawings I have done of Liv Tyler as well.

 

 

SAMPLES OF MY ARTWORK

The Bride of Frankenstein is one of my all time favorite movies.  I love the old Universal and Hammer horror movies.  I love to read and Frankenstein is my favorite book.  I liked it so well I named my first born after the title character - Victor.


I spend a lot of time reading and studying folklore and I hope my expertise in that area shows in my game and in the game world of Inzeladun.. 

We as people are nothing more than a sum of our influences, all co-mingled to create something new from that sum.  To say that I have created anything or thought of anything without influence is a philosophical fallacy.  My most direct and strongest literary influence is the author Robert E. Howard.  I find his writing to be very visual and image-filled and I find no end to the inspiration to be found within his stories.

I am also influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, JRR Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Stephen King.

That is not to say I spend all my time reading.  I am also heavily influenced by movies.   I am a big fan of the old Universal Monster Movies and the British Hammer films.  These films, unlike shockers of today, are very character driven (as opposed to special effects driven).  The original Star Wars trilogy is also a major influence upon me.

I adore ghost and vampire stories, particularly short stories (I don't think horror lends itself too well to the novel format).  Indeed, I claim there are only two good vampire novels written - Dracula (Bram Stoker) and 'Salem's Lot (Stephen King).  The rest of the genre is best served by those who write short stories or novelettes.

Legends and Folklore are another source of inspiration.  Tales of werewolves, dragons, and heroes... I love them.

I learned to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons from my Uncle Richard.  (He also introduced me to Robert E. Howard, so I owe this man much.)  This was in 1981.  I was eleven years old.  I played a magic user and in my first game I helped kill Demogorgan and got the Eye of Vecna.

Seeing my interest in the game, my parents bought my brother the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual for his birthday, and bought me the Dungeon Master's Guide, Fiend Folio, and Deities and Demigods.  We also got a set of dice.  Armed with these tools I was set to go.  I created Grindill, a magic-user, and my brother rolled up Han Dirgon, a paladin, and Andar Tertictandon, a cleric.  And from there it all began...

Favorite Books: Frankenstein; Gone With the Wind; The Hour of the Dragon
Favorite Rock Group: KISS
Favorite Rock Singer: Gene Simmons
Favorite Country Singer: Johnny Horton
Favorite Country Group: Alabama
Favorite Classical Composer: Wagner

Favorite Movies: Conan the Barbarian; Empire Records; Princess Bride; Bride of Frankenstein; Excalibur, The Wolf Man; Star Wars (the entire Trilogy, but I like The Empire Strikes Back the best); Tarzan and His Mate; Tarzan's New York Adventure; My Cousin Vinny; Uncle Buck

Phobias: Snakes and Ghosts

Favorite TV Shows: Star Trek (original series, thank you); Perry Mason; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Ally McBeal; That Seventies Show

For those of you who want to know why I am not a Christian any longer, I have written a treatise on that subject.  Let me know what you think.  I love to argue religion. My email is vincent@tls.net

 

1) Favorite DnD Book: Monster Manual/Player's Handbook (tie - Both inspire the Hell out of me)
2) Favorite non-Core DnD Book: Book of Vile Darkness
3) Favorite Hardcover D20 Book: Call of Cthulhu/Nyambe {Tie)
4) Favorite PDF: Mahasarpa (Oriental Adventures Web Enhancement)
5) Favorite Softcover D20 Book: Unveiled Masters: The Essential Guide to Mind Flayers
6) Favorite 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Book: Al~Qadim
7) Favorite Advanced D&D (Original edition) Book: Dungeon Master's Guide
8) Favorite Novel: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
9) Favorite Author: Robert E. Howard
10) Favorite d20 writer: Monte Cook
11) Biggest D20 surprise: Atlas Games' Occult Lore
12) Biggest D20 disappointment: The Slayer's Guide to Yuan-Ti
13) Favorite "I-Wish-I-Had-It-Even-Though-I-Would-Probably-Never-Play-It" d20 book: D20 Star Wars
14) Favorite resource: Signs and Portents magazine
15) Favorite Dungeons and Dragons God: Gary Gygax
 16) Favorite OGL Book: Conan the Roleplaying Game
 17) Favorite OGL Book I have written: Conan: Across the Thunder River
18) Favorite Webmaster: Chris Bradley
19) Favorite Publisher: Mongoose Publishing
20) Favorite Conan Girl: Yasmina