“Cover art for Assay: A Quasi-Medieval Fantasy Roleplaying Game“ by Erik Meyer

Erik Meyer lives in Eau Claire and works in the public schools. He has published three books; Cryptoamnesiac, a science fiction novel, released in 2021. The Sublime Luminary of Um and Return to Um, both written for a middle grade audience, were released in 2025 and 2026, respectively. When he isn't writing, Erik cultivates deep loves of pen-and-paper roleplaying games and line art drawing. For a peek at his current work, check out @wiscospeedro on instagram or indiegraze.com.

“Cover art for Assay: A Quasi-Medieval Fantasy Roleplaying Game” • Inkscape • May 2026 • About the artwork, from the artist: “This piece of digital art serves as an example of intentional worldbuilding for the pen-and-paper RPG that is Assay. The citizens remain unaware of the fact that their world is an island that was (hundreds of years ago) built in the middle of Lake Superior by corporations desiring an ecosystem in which to test engineered organisms and new hominid varieties. As such, everyone lives at a more-or-less medieval technological level and is discouraged from discovering the outside world (much less science). Most of this backstory is not present in the drawing itself, but the visual drops gamers into the world as it appears.”