4th Edition: The Art of Pannithor

Christian - Lead Artist & Art Direction

I had been working with Mantic as an artist for some time and was honoured when I was asked to be involved in Kings of War 4th Edition. I was also very involved with the Xirkaali, Pannithor’s newest race, with whom I forged a strong affinity – being the concept artist who helped Kyle design them.  

I was very keen to bring them further too life in the artwork, as well as enhancing the strong narrative and classic look and feel for the world of Pannithor. We had meetings early on discuss and define how we could move the look of Kings of War forward, while honouring its legacy. For inspiration, I took the art from fantasy artists from the eighties and nineties, pre the digital age. This would also help to guide the other artists to help us achieve a holistic look in line with what we wanted to achieve. 

We all wanted the images to tell a story, not simply be battle scenes (although this does have its fair share, it is a war game after all!). Each brief was written to flesh out the world and capture a snapshot in time, some dramatic, some quite mundane as if the viewer is just another bystander. We also wanted to contrast visceral and up-close battles with sweeping vistas that showed huge armies clashing. Many pieces were also dedicated to the showing the many environments that exist in Pannithor. 

While there are a variety of images showing the inhabitants of the world, much of my attention was taken with the Xirkaali. Before the conceptual drawings I read the lore surrounding them, in particular their history and culture. I would need those details to define their look.

Going to the next stage, turning the concepts and/or miniatures into paintings, always requires more thought, as now those toy soldiers need to move and feel like they are in a real world. So, it was crucial to understand and show even seemingly pedantic information like how their armour is donned, the scarring on the faces of veterans, the types of rings the Matriarch wears and the bones used to make the make the “armour” for the Brutes. Small details add credibility to the art, making it immersive, drawing people into something, that I hope, is an experience that goes beyond the tabletop. 

One of my favourite pieces, not Xirkaali related, was the updated Kings of War helmet. The helmet started as a 3d creation as a near exact replica of the 2d version that had graced previous covers. I then used that as a reference to paint the new version.

Well, I hope you find these insights interesting, and I hope that these contributions enhance your enjoyment of Kings of War! 

Ciaran - Maps & Timelines

Getting Involved

I’ve been involved with Mantic since 2016, starting as a volunteer on the Dungeon Saga Rules Committee and gradually taking on various roles—assisting with Kings of War: Vanguard, global campaign websites, developing Dungeon Saga: Origins, and delivering maps and in-lore art content for the Kings of War 3rd Edition rulebook, Clash of Kings, and other supplements throughout the edition. All of this has helped build a strong relationship with Mantic, particularly with Matt Gilbert in the Design Studio, and has given me a fairly expansive knowledge of Kings of War and the wider Pannithor setting.

So when the opportunity arose to contribute art for Kings of War 4th Edition, it was an easy decision - a natural extension of everything I’d done before. During 3rd Edition, we had a rough idea of what the wider world looked like, but the chance to develop and officially illustrate it was one I couldn’t pass up.

The Task at Hand

I was asked to deliver four maps: a world map, a continental map of eastern Pannithor, a regional map of Viesha in the west, and a detailed local map of Ej and its surrounding lands. Additionally, I was tasked with illustrating the known timeline of Pannithor - split into two parts (the ancient era and the more recent era) - in a similar style and tone to the “A Study of Magic” manuscript-themed piece I created for 3rd Edition.

Each map required a different level of scope and came with varying degrees of pre-existing material, meaning each demanded a distinct approach in terms of research, design, and complexity.

Concepts, Content & Communication

My process begins with initial research, followed by prepping early concepts and requirements to discuss with Matt as we outline and define the project. I sketch early drafts - shapes, colour palettes, and stylings - and we hold checkpoint meetings to confirm I’m heading in the right direction. If there’s no existing lore for a location, I’ll create names, meanings, and points of interest that feel appropriate to the lore, faction, or geography, and then share these with Matt. We go back and forth, refining ideas and populating the maps collaboratively.

Once the conceptual groundwork is laid, I begin drawing the physical geography - starting with major mountains and rivers, followed by forests and plains. Cities and towns come last, with names fitted carefully into the landscape. Colour and specific art elements are added toward the end of the process.

One of the final touches is the label and legend box, where I add graphical elements and lore text to anchor the map in-world. If there’s space around the edges, I often include scribbled lore notes to explain ideas, add narrative flavour, and balance the composition. These are always a joy to create.

It’s a highly collaborative process with a good degree of creative freedom, supported by regular communication via email and web meetings with Matt - helped, I hope, by our nine years of working together on Pannithor in various capacities.

Shaping the World

For the world map, Matt and I had already conceptualised its general design and shape during 3rd Edition (building on work by Chris Morris from 2nd Edition), with an existing Kings of War art piece - the map in the library, drawn at the request of Elven scribes - serving as an initial guide. I also had to account for the Great Flood that followed the defeat of Winter, imagining what the landmasses might have looked like before the cataclysm to ensure geographic plausibility. I like to ground my mapwork in realism - it helps readers and players relate to and understand the world more intuitively.

There was also a wealth of new lore created for the eastern continent, with its own detailed history that diverged from our 3rd Edition concepts. That had to be designed and drawn first so it could integrate meaningfully with the existing world. World maps require a balancing act - deciding what content to include and what to leave out. I had to determine which points of interest would be relevant to readers and players while still fitting the “zoomed-out” scope, and what “undiscovered” content could be added to create visual balance while leaving room for future stories. This map was also in colour, which meant extra time and effort to develop biomes, climates, ocean flows, and other environmental features.

Into The East

For the map of eastern Pannithor - now officially named Orindral - I worked closely with Clint (C.L. Werner), starting from a rough outline sketch he provided and reading through early drafts of his material to build background knowledge. I adapted his sketch to align with our established world concepts while factoring in the effects of the Flood. After assembling early versions, I collaborated more closely with Clint as he fleshed out locations and lore at the necessary level of detail.

It was a rewarding collaboration - Clint is great to work with, and it was fascinating to hear how he constructs ideas around story and place. I also got to contribute my own ideas to help populate the world and add character to the map. We shared various edits and revisions with Clint and Matt at Mantic, refining the content together. We wanted this map to feel distinct from the others—to evoke the sense that it came from a lesser-known part of the world, unfamiliar to the factions of northern Pannithor.

Mapping Regions & Locales

The maps of Viesha and Ej were smaller in scope but came with their own challenges. For Viesha, I had to ensure it aligned with a portion of the detailed Elvenholme map from 3rd Edition, incorporate geographical concepts from the world map, and then expand those in more detail. As a sparsely populated region, it was both fun and tricky - how do you create visual interest without many cities or recognised hubs of civilisation? I leaned into area-based names and geographical features to provide points of interest. A deep rainforest may not be well-charted, but its regions and features - like the Akanjo Basin and the Great Oluwani River - would have names given by locals and explorers.

For Ej, the focus was on realising a map concept by writer Scott Washburn, who had developed much of the halfling lore and the surrounding towns and villages. It was fun to bring his content to life in proper map form, though challenging due to the tight zoom and detail required. It also had to fit within a region we’d previously mapped at a broader scale in 3rd Edition. After recreating Scott’s map, I expanded the surrounding lands with additional place names and points of interest to round out the piece.

Of Time & Timelines

The two timeline pieces and lore-centric manuscript pages are among my favourite types of work - they let me be analytical and creative at once, which also makes them the most demanding and time-consuming. After receiving the list of dates from Matt, I began researching and planning how to represent vast spans of time in a way that made visual sense - both as a linear record and as a balanced, readable graphic. I then dove into the historical snippets tied to each date, rewording them to fit the available space and considering what art might suit each faction or narrative moment. I shared elements and examples with Matt, refined them together, and then fully populated the piece.

The manuscript-style elements are especially fun - I get to imagine how an inhabitant of Pannithor might perceive and record the world. Since the timelines and history were the focus, I explored concepts of time itself: how it’s measured, belief systems tied to it, and even its representation as an arcane force. I riffed on ideas and concept art, sent them to Matt, and thankfully most were well received. From there, it was a matter of refining the content until it felt authentically in-world and fit the page layout.

These pages are truly multidisciplinary - I have to think through graphic design, laying out dates, lines, text, and symbols across different scales. I get to invent in-world lore, write narrative snippets, and draw custom art elements to convey those ideas. All of it is underpinned by deep reading and research, including combing through the Mantic back catalogue to find existing art assets and resources I can use.

They’re a real labour of love, and I hope readers and players enjoy them. When they see the finished pieces, I hope they feel like they’ve stumbled across an old manuscript tucked away in the libraries of Pannithor...

Thanks everybody!

New blogs, videos and stories will be dropping regularly between now and the launch of 4th Edition in December 2025.

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