Charles Urbach’s incredible color pencil pieces were first featured on a Warlord card in Campaign Edition. Over time his art found its home beneath the title of 13 different actions, items, and characters including the death-obsessed Khilkhameth and mercenary assassin Zara.

What got you interested in artwork in general and why was it gel pens? What was your first foray into illustration and how did that come about?

I started my career as a graphic designer and illustrator for advertising in 1991. My passion was always science fiction and fantasy art, and from a very early age I'd wanted to work on book covers for publishing and for the gaming industry. The artwork of TSR's D&D products in the 1980's was very inspirational. By the late 1990's I'd built my first portfolio of fantasy work and was promoting it online. An author, T.S. Robinson, found my portfolio and hired me to illustrate the covers and interior art for his first two books, "Battle Chasers" and "Into the Dragon's Maw." That work in turn led me to sci-fi literary fan conventions and their art shows. From there I connected with people involved in tabletop gaming. The path I followed was shaped almost entirely by personal connections with other creatives and pros, many of which are still relevant to my journey today.

How did you come to hear about and work on Warlord? Were you blackmailed into it?

At the Marcon convention in Columbus, OH, I was introduced to Brent and Joan Keith. Brent, who went on to design games for AEG, was volunteering with rules support for AEG at the time. A mutual friend saw several of the pieces I was selling in the art show and showed them to Brent. In particular, a pair of warriors I'd drawn reminded him of Deverenians. We spoke at length about the game and the ccg industry in general, and while nothing came of it right away, he reached out again a couple years later and the timing was right. My first game assignment ever as an illustrator was two Warlord cards, "Strike With Impunity" and "Invader's Banner." Warlord was my introduction to the industry, and led directly into my other work for AEG. That work in turn became the foundation for everything that came after from Star Wars, to Everquest, to Magic: The Gathering. So many games and opportunities, but Warlord was the start of it all.

Did you get assigned specific races, factions, or classes? What kinds of images did you enjoy creating the most and why?

I was given a wide range of assignments across my first few projects. It was such a new process for me, I didn't put an emphasis on anything specific. That changed over time as I worked on other games, but Warlord was always eclectic. My preference as an artist isn't for specific subjects, so much as the freedom to execute any subject my way. In gaming that isn't always possible. The last time I worked on Warlord was for the Sands of Oblivion set and at that point, I requested character and environment work, in line with what I was creating for other games. This led to the "Zara" and "Khilkhameth" cards which are the two most popular images I created for the game.

What's it like rediscovering pieces you did decades ago - do you notice a significant change in your style then and now? Looking back over them, do any of your contributions to Warlord stick out as your favorite?

I work exclusively in colored pencil and my early work for Warlord and Legend of the Five Rings were very important to refining my techniques. Things that worked in advertising or editorial illustration didn't translate well to card art, so I was challenged to push my skills to find new ways of using the medium. I've always taken the approach of trying new things and building on what works. My art for Warlord reflected that. My process between those first two promo cards and Sands of Oblivion were very different. I'm grateful for and proud of all the work I did, but the art for Sands was the most sophisticated and successful. "Zara" continues to be a popular image on prints and merchandise around the world.

What's your best Warlord memory or story?

My first two cards were promos and apparently hard to obtain. I repeatedly asked AEG for copies and was promised I'd get them many times, but never did. I was at Gen Con years later, at a point when the game was out of production, and two Warlord players came to my booth. We talked about the game and my work and I mentioned I never got those cards - that I'd never even seen them. That very day they returned to my booth with copies of both for me, finally bringing my very first gaming job to a close. I have other very good memories of the game, all of them connected to the kindness and community of the players. That, more than anything is what Warlord means to me. It was my first foray into gaming illustration and connected me to people I still respect and appreciate today.

We're doing a Warlord art colosseum style battle royale! Who's your champion and why?

Khilkhameth - he's the nightmarish embodiment of both death and submission. He doesn't just fight, kill, and conquer, he remakes the world in his dark image.

Alright, thanks for answering these and engaging the community in this way! What's going on with you these days? Anything you want to plug?

I've created hundreds of illustrations for tabletop and online games since those first two cards, and I continue to work in gaming when projects and companies are a good fit. My emphasis now is on cover work for publishing and games, and projects that allow me more creative freedom or contribution to directing the projects. I also produce artwork for events and conventions with themes and subjects I enjoy. Typically, my retail operation runs year round at conventions, though that's been curtailed by the pandemic. I'm looking forward to returning to events later this year and reconnecting. I've also expanded my online presence to include an ever-growing Etsy store, with content added weekly. It will be a long time before that catches up with the inventory I bring to events, but it currently features my most popular work, including select favorites from Warlord.

Connect with me on social media via my Facebook Art Page.
Browse my work for sale on my Esty store.

I have some very exciting personal projects developing later this year, some of which have been in development since my pre-Warlord days. Follow me in those two places to see what's new and stay connected to new releases.