For the rooks I chose maces, partly out of a need for more variety among the weapons and partly out of the idea that a hulking, tough character like the rook would carry something more like a club than a sword.

I gave some thought to personifying this character: The rook, or castle, is the only chess piece representing an inanimate object. So I envisioned them as strong and shielding, the way a castle wall would be. They were not quick or nimble but very definitely solid. These figures came closest to the characters I saw in Frank Frazetta’s work.