Marrow and Thorn

A briar-crowned stag facing a small hooded figure. The publisher wanted a monster and I gave them a standoff.

Krzemień Press asked for something frightening. My first three roughs were monsters and all three were boring, because a monster on a box tells you the whole game before you open it. The fourth put the creature and the player on the same page, at the same moment, and neither of them moving.

The stag is barely lit. Most of the drawing is the wood behind it. It is the cover I fought hardest for and the one that sold the campaign in the first two days.

Publisher
Krzemień Press
Year
2025
Players
1 to 4
Illustrated
Cover, 40 creature cards, board, 6 player boards
Editions
Polish, English, German, French, Korean

Category

Box covers

Box cover. The fourth rough, and the first one that was not a monster.

Creature card. The stag again, closer, at card scale.

The winter wood board. Hexes laid over the painting, not under it.