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lil--nuggett · 2 months

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Hey guys, so if you know Baldur's Gate 3 this is an AU for that with Hardenshipping but it's really fucked up. I will explain why it's fucked up below the cut.

Maxie is a High Half-Elf Warlock (his patron is Groudon), and Archie's a Human Fighter <3

Also I just realized this is the first time you have seen me draw Archie seriously lmao my bad guys I'll try to draw him again soon

I took a ton of inspiration for various things for these designs, including Guile for Archie's armor bc I love Guile sm!!

(More info and our dumb AU lore under here - No BG3 Spoilers I promise <3)

I'm going to tell you this now... this gets really fucking crazy and honest to god I know I'm going to have a hard time explaining this. It WILL be quite long and I WILL be yapping.

This AU is really just something we did on impulse and it's really fun to mess around with, so I'm hoping you all will enjoy the concept as well :)

I'll try to explain it simply as I can. I thank you in advance to all who sit here and read this ily sm if you read it all <3333

Anyways, okay so imagine how one could do a bg3 AU for these two fuckers...

And throw it right out the window because you'll never guess how me and my friend have done it.

The Backstory:

This all started when my friend decided to play BG3 for the first time, and he jokingly said to me "Should I make Maxie our main character??" and I replied "I you want, but I won't force you" and thus BG3 Maxie was created, and his misadventures began.

Now your probably wondering (if you've played the game) what about the guardian?? Who did we make the guardian?? Well, we made Archie the guardian. However, I did not know just how wild this idea would get within the next few days.

So, eventually we realized how crazy the BG3 lore actually is (it's a like fucking DnD campaign idk how we didn't realize this beforehand), and so, we jokingly started our own "AU Lore" that ties in with the BG3 Lore.

If you really want to know, I have an entire note in my notes app dedicated to keeping track of what happens. It is very long.

The Parasite:

Now, if you've played the game or know anything about it, you know about the Mindflayer parasites. Well, one fateful day, me and my friend joked that the Parasite in Maxie's head was this little freak who looks like Archie.

The two have no correlation other than looks, its completely coincidence and it's not a mimic situation. The Parasite "Archie" does nothing but talk nonsense to Maxie all the time, and initially the bit was that he only talked about Fortnite. All because I made the joke that the dream realm in game looked like a fortnite update. By now, that bit has fallen off (thank god), replaced by just general nonsense and lies.

Also he fucking looks like this:

Weird little freak. This is just one of his talk sprites I have, this is just his neutral expression.

So basically it's:

- Maxie was supposed to be on a Geology research trip, but instead he got dragged into the Parasite issue with the rest of the companions. He really just wants to get home to Archie.

I am the one who handles everything for Maxie in this AU, I do his voice, I handle his lore, etc.

- Parasite Archie is this 1 foot tall, neco arc-esque version of Archie that sits on Maxie's shoulder and tells him nonsensical things. He also says Maxie's name wrong, he says Maxie's full first name and pronounces it as "Maximilliam" instead of the "N" at the end. For Maxie it's like handling a toddler but the toddler fights back, doesn't shut up, and threatens your life. He also has a ton of his own lore that my friend continously adds on to, so I can make another post with just the parasite's part of things.

My friend handles everything with the Parasite himself, comes up with the lore, does the voice, etc. I simply keep track of it.

- The "dream visitor" version of Archie is not real either. It's linked to the Parasite in ways that if I get into it, I will spoil a good chunk of the game. Sorry. Just know you can consider this and Parasite Archie kind of as one in the same almost.

- The REAL Archie is still at home, completely unaware of what's happening, while Maxie is fighting for his life. He does miss him, though, and hopes he gets home soon. He and Maxie are only boyfriends, they haven't gotten married yet. (They also haven't been through their rivalry yet, as this all takes place before that happens.)

Sorry for the convoluted yap sesh, I just have more art planned for this stupid AU and- God I cannot possibly just post this shit with no context. Like, I'd have to explain it eventually so I might as well do it now beforehand yk 😭😭

I might do separate posts with our HCs and some silly conversations that have happened between Parasite Archie and Maxie if you guys would want that :)

Also, I do have all of the sessions from where my friend plays the game recorded and I'll be sure to post some clips of what Parasite Archie sounds like eventually, possibly with snippets of my shitty Maxie voice in there as well. You'll get to see the talk sprites in action with that, too.

#nugget's yapping again #apologies in advance to all the bg3 fans who end up seeing this shit im so sorry guys #nugget art!!#GOD THIS IS SO LONH IM SO SORRY GUYS #Parasite Archie #its official #he has his own tag now. god help us.#like i said ill make a separate post about Maxie and Parasite Archie so you can know more about them and their dynamic #hardenshipping #magma leader maxie #aqua leader archie #bg3 #bg3 au

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yourdeepestfathoms · 6 months

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TADC Playing D&D

(ALL PLATONIC/FAMILIAL.)

Caine is the DM obviously

Pomni plays a Firbolg Warlock (but her Firbolg’s design is the one that looks like a cow. y’all know the one. it’s the only valid design for a Firbolg)

Jax plays a Tiefling Rogue (obviously)

Ragatha plays an Aasimar Cleric (also obviously)

Zooble plays a Changeling Barbarian

Gangle plays a Gnome Druid

Kinger plays a Warforged Artificer

And then Caine reveals the plot twist: it’s gonna be irl dnd, and they ACTUALLY PLAY their characters

They’ve got costumes and their character traits and everything! Like, Ragatha gets angel wings, Jax has horns, Pomni gets a tail (because, again, cow-like Firbolgs are the only right way to design Firbolgs, and you can pry that from my cold, dead hands)

The terrain also changes into the same terrain as wherever they adventure to

Antics ensue!

Zooble is the tank

And they can instill the fear of god upon man

But you know who else can be scary as fuck?

Ragatha

Have you ever fought a Forge Cleric before? Did you know those bitches can wear Heavy Armor?

Combat is WILD when they’re actually acting it out

Though, it can barely be considered “acting” because Caine has somehow made magic possible????

Kinger asks to make the most wild shit because he thinks it’s fun

Gangle once got downed, got to two (2) failed Death Saves, was brought back up, and then was IMMEDIATELY downed again

Pomni gets anxiety over even the most mundane of rolls

She was asked to roll Perception, and she was sweating buckets, afraid to fail and screw everything up, and it was literally just to find a nice bakery in the city they were at

Jax asks to pickpocket orphans

Ragatha: Pomni, why is your Strength a seven???

Pomni: i don’t want to talk about it

Her Unarmed Strike literally does zero (0) damage

She never uses her weapon ever

Only Eldritch Blast

She also uses other spells ofc, but Eldritch Blast is her go-to

“Doll Face, i’m down” “Pomni’s having a panic attack” “okay, and? i’m downed”

Jax and Ragatha have beef the Whole Time

“why did you think you could hide in an empty arena??” “because i’m a Rogue, and they have Advantage on hiding!” “IT IS AN EMPTY ARENA WITH NOTHING BUT SAND.” “I AM A ROGUE WITH ADVANTAGE TO HIDING.” “THE ARENA IS EMPTY. THERE IS NOWHERE TO HIDE.”

Despite being a Firbolg, which is considered a race of Giant, Pomni is STILL considered as a Small creature (due to her own height)

Because of this, she can ride every single other person in the party, as the Ride rules in dnd state that a willing creature at least one size larger than you and has appropriate anatomy can serve as a mount

This has started a “technique” the group has named “War Horsing”

In which Pomni sits on someone’s shoulders and spams Eldritch Blast non-stop while the other person wrecks house

(She usually sits on Zooble’s shoulders and Cure Wounds them whenever they take too much damage)

She’s also called the “cannon” of the group because she’ll sit on Zooble’s shoulders and use Fireball

Speaking of Fireball!

The gang once found Beads of Fireball, and Jax, wanting to be a boss bitch and show how much better than everyone he is by single-handedly killing this super hard boss they were fighting, thought that because he’s a Tiefling and Tieflings have Resistance to Fire Damage, he could easily survive a blast.

Anyway, he ended up taking 80d6 Fire Damage after he threw all ten (10) beads at once.

Even when the damage was halved, he still died instantly.

Ragatha considered if it was worth it to Revivify him.

Pomni uses Speech of Beast and Leaf to speak with plants, and the plants just cuss her out.

Zooble: can i roll to pick up Pomni by the ankles and swing her around as an improvised weapon?

Pomni: ?!?!?!

(Caine said yes)

(Zooble ended up doing five whole damage with Pomni’s body)

Caine once rolled 200d8 Bludgeoning damage because Kinger fell off a mountain (he was Revivified by Ragatha after)

“COUNTERSPELL THIS, B[@&$%]” -Zooble, right before decking an NPC straight through a wall

When fights get too hairy, Jax will Disengage and leave the party to fend for themselves

There was once this HORRIFIC chase scene the party had to try to survive

Zooble: *polymorphed into a mountain goat by Pomni, sprinting as fast as they can*

Gangle: *Wild Shaped into a mouse, desperately hanging onto Zooble’s fur*

Ragatha: *flying away while holding Pomni*

Pomni: *clinging to Ragatha like how a baby sloth would cling to its mother, shooting Eldritch Blast at the monster every turn in a desperate attempt to slow it down, screaming*

Jax: *already 200ft in front of the others because he ran off way before them*

Kinger: *wondering if it’s a good time to tell the others he has Longstrider prepared*

Jax got maimed by a Mimic because he couldn’t help but not loot a chest he found

He then proceeded to get maimed by ANOTHER MIMIC in the VERY NEXT ROOM because he also tried to loot that, too

Zooble: does a 22 hit? 😏

Caine: no

the entire party: 😟

Pomni got bitten by a werewolf and failed the Constitution saving throw, so she ended up becoming a werewolf. During her first transformation, she lost control after failing the saving throw and immediately started mauling Jax.

Everyone just kinda stopped and watched in awe for a moment before they realized they should probably help him.

“He needed the humbling” -Zooble

Kinger crafts Pomni a gun and gives it to her

Caine: so you all see the werewolf pull out a Tommy gun

The party had to fight this giant frog, and they all thought it would be a walk in the park, but then it swallowed Pomni, and the simple encounter turned into a fight for Pomni’s fucking life because Pomni was actively suffocating inside of it, and Jax wanted to blow up the frog with a magic grenade he had, despite Pomni being in there (he was well aware that she would also take damage), and Ragatha was trying to see if she could heal Pomni from inside the frog, and Gangle ended up Wild Shaping into another frog and begging it to let Pomni go.

Pomni was traumatized.

Caine: who’s done a good job at roleplaying recently?

Kinger: well, Pomni did have a panic attack

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crinosg · 1 year

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Okay so here are some more Disney Mirrorverse characters

Anger they didn't really change at all. They just made him slightly volcanic. He also has a sword (not pictured here).

Baloo basically looks like he walked out of a weird Furry version of Mad Max.

Baymax looks weird, it looks like they tried to integrate his power armor into his design. Not really a fan.

OH HI BEAST SOMEONE HAS BEEN TAKING LEVELS IN PALADIN HUH?

I like how they didn't really change Buzz's design. They just gave him a bigger gun.

Man if looks could kill Donald would already be in prison. I do like they made the effort to distinguish him from the KH version. The energy anchor is a nice touch too.

OKAY WHY IS DORY EVEN FUCKING HERE? Spare her the horrors of war I implore you!

I like this, its similar to her normal outfit, but clearly designed for combat with more maneuverability.

THIS IS THE MONADO'S POWER! I mean, EVE already has combat abilities, does she really need the flipper swords?

Again reminds me of Elsa's design. Its the same dress as the canon version, just designed for more maneuverability. And with big stupid WOW shoulderpads too. Also I guess she's just lobbing the poison apples at people now.

Yeah, remember Frank Wolff? Dwayne the Rock Johnson's character from the hit Disney Movie Jungle Cruise? Yeah no I don't either. Look, the movie had came out, they needed to promote it. Have Dwayne The Rock Johnson with a Swamp Thing arm.

This one is alright, feels like if they were making the edgy Pre MCU Frozone movie this is what he would look like.

Alright real big fan of this one. This looks like the Genie like a thousand years post Aladdin where he's become a powerful Genie lord and rules over his own kingdom and stuff. Just love the design here.

I like this. Pretty simplistic design.

Not gonna lie I could imagine canon Hades wearing this.

I think this is largely just a recolor of his canon costume. *checks* Not even a recolor, its basically just the same outfit.

Honestly never even seen Onward so I could not comment. It looks fine though, he looks like a DnD character.

So they took Judy Hopps and gave her a Zero Suit. I can dig it.

Again, this is something I could see Maleficent wearing.

So the question is how do they change up Maui for Mirrorverse? Answer, just make his tattoos glow. Its a cool effect to be sure.

this one is pretty good. No complaints.

I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. Why is Mike in power armor? Why is here here at all?

Pretty cute design, but I get the feeling Minnie isn't fully aware she's about to be going to war.

This is a nice design, its simple, and it builds subtly off Moana's normal look.

Why are his hands glowing? What does that add?

OH GOD THEY PUT OLAF IN A LITTLE CAPE I CAN'T. Why is he even here? Olaf cannot face the horrors of war. He looks so determined too like that face says "I'm about to kick some ass today!"

Okay the jacket is a bit much, but I am kind of digging the roulette wheel shield and the dice flail.

Again have note seen Raya, but this seems alright. Probably should make time for some of these newer Disney films, especially since I want to show support during the whole DeSantis....thing.

Really like this one, especially the sewing needle weapons.

Goddamn Scar, cut back on the vaping man! What the actual fuck with this one?

Okay I'm out of space for pictures in this one so gonna continue this in a part 2.

#Disney Mirrorverse

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fantasy-anatomy-analyst · 1 year

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DnD 5e goblins and bugbears

are these designs racist? Well, as I am white, I can't really say I'm the expert on this particular concern, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone else point it out, so take this with a grain of salt.

They probably aren't intentionally racist designs. They do make me feel uncomfortable. I haven't finished my redesign for them yet, but I wanted to get this post started since I have other big projects to get to and if I just go straight to those, I will continue to forget about this one. So let's get started!

(image description: the official dnd 5e art for goblins and bugbears. They're related species, though the bugbear is much taller and covered in fur, while the goblin is very small and mostly hairless. they both have large triangular ears and a rounded hook nose with no bridge. The goblin has very yellow skin, the bugbear has very orange fur, and both have red-yellow eyes with flared eyebrows. Their weapons and armor look a bit scrappy, with bones and spikes and metal studs all over the design. notes on the image will be explained below. end description)

the fur color can probably be given a pass because it's fur, but the goblin's skin is so yellow. By itself, I don't think that would be enough to call it a bad design choice, but it is a little odd. what really makes me suspicious are the face shapes, especially the nose and eyebrows. And also the armor. There's not much armor, and it doesn't look like an exact match for any specific type of armor. Honestly I think it's a mix of inspirations, since the bugbear's leather skirt thing does look more like typical roman-inspired battle skirts. but there's enough going on with layered panels and metal studs, mixed with hide and bone and spikes for that "primitive" flair, that I do wonder a bit.

I gathered a few images that these designs reminded me of, as a visual reference.

(image description: both images contain screenshots of the huns from the animated disney Mulan film. The first image also shows old samurai armor and mongolian armor. the armor all has similar designs of layered metal and/or leather with metal studs all over it. The second image contains close ups of the goblin and bugbear faces with the animated film hun characters for comparison. They do all have similarly flared eyebrows and eye colors, as well as some similarities in the nose designs. end description)

Just, kinda makes me uncomfortable. Feels like someone should have double checked their work a bit before finalizing these monster designs. It's not blatant enough to be like, really on purpose, I don't think? I could be wrong, I very well may be missing some details. But the similarities to the hun designs alone are enough to make me say "oh gee, this doesn't seem right." Honestly, I think it's part of a larger trending problem with monster design. There are just some visual features that get used as the universal indicators that these creatures are Evil by nature. These features typically include some form of hooked nose, "primitive" armor, weapons, and clothing, and facial shapes that are angular and blocky, with a very heavy brow.

as a result of these common "evil" visual features, it's kind of inevitable that humanoid monster designs will end up feeling racist in some manner. It's much easier to avoid accidental racism with more animal or insectoid monster designs, but everyone always wants sapient-ish enemies they can use as cannon fodder, with even more humanoid final bosses. So they default to these visual traits again and again, because those are just the visual traits that have always been used. So it's an ongoing issue. Heck, if I tried to design evil humanoids from scratch for a job, I'm sure someone above me would request edits to give them the more obvious "evil" traits so they look more scary and intimidating. this is an industry problem more than an individual one. I hope I've helped point it out here, so more people can recognize it and add their own commentary.

I am also working on a redesign for these, in as close a stye match as I can manage. here's a WIP sample:

(image description: in the first image, a sketched redesign of the goblin and bugbear. Their noses and ears have been altered to look more bat-like, with prominent fleshy ridges on the noses that stick up away from the face. In the second image, the goblin is mostly finished with new colors and altered armor. It is now wearing a short leather wrap with strands of leather or hide hanging off the belt, alongside the arm bracers and leg bracers that were already there. Its skin is now a pale grey color and its hair has been redone as short bristly fur, with facial whiskers on the brow and chin. The bugbear has not been repainted, but it has been cut up and repositioned in preparation for the repaint. end description.)

fixed the poses while i was at it, making the goblin a little more dynamic and the bugbear a little more balanced. They're cave dwellers, so i went further with the bat-like features and the pallid complexion like other cave dwelling creatures have. It's going to take a while to repaint these, so this WIP will have to do for now. I hope it shows how a similar art style can be maintained while also making the designs a little more interesting and not so reliant on racist features.

#goblin #bugbear #dnd 5e #redesign process #creature critique

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gloppyfish · 1 year

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sex pollen fic

Pairing: Rowan Desai & Círdan (characters in the dnd party i’m in lol)

Warnings: sex… pollen…. sex pollen… overuse of hyphens and generally inaccurate depiction of gay butt sex… dubcon? (because pollen)

A/N: this is not going to be an enriching or satisfying read to anyone who does not know these characters i’m so sorry. but still read it please :D

——————

Rowan was gone.

Círdan had awoken from his trance, looked to his right, and seen sheets thrown back on a vacant bed. Laying on the bedside table was a precariously balanced pile of leather outer armor that his unwilling roommate had shed earlier in the night, but the man himself was nowhere to be found, the slight cave in his mattress and his left-behind leathers being the only indication that he was ever even there.

Círdan stared blankly at the empty mattress for a few beats before wheels and cogs finally began to turn in his brain. He was gone. Why was he gone?

The room was completely silent.

There was an empty spot, Círdan noticed, on the table beside the pile of armor and he was positive that Rowan’s dagger had been placed there when they had first retired to the room. The paladin had entered, faced the wall, stripped himself of his protective gear, and then placed his blade on the table, and the only reason that Círdan is certain this happened is because he’d been watching the other man’s movements intently as he de-armored himself, eyes fixated on the ripples of muscle visible when he stretched his arms. When Rowan had turned slightly to the side, Círdan quickly averted his gaze, eartips burning hot with shame.

The absence of the weapon was slightly worrying — what were the chances that Rowan had gotten into genuine trouble and had to leave armed and ready to fight? But then again, he would probably take his weapon with him on a simple midnight stroll just to have it within arm’s reach. He was fine. Probably.

Círdan chose not to worry or care too much. He was not in the mood to stress himself to the point of aneurysm only for Rowan to return nonchalantly in the morning from a nice night walk around town. Plus truthfully, he doubted Rowan would give a shit if the roles in this situation were switched. If anything, a sudden disappearance on Círdan’s part would probably just fuel Rowan’s obvious, likely prejudice-based suspicions about the Drow. It was hard to miss all of the sidelong glances and glares that Rowan loved to cast Círdan’s way, the message obvious: I don’t trust you. Every other member of the ragtag group Círdan found himself working alongside had been accepting of him despite his dark lineage, but Rowan — lone wolf, self righteous, pain in the ass Rowan — was the only one to show malice of any kind. So why should he have to give half a shit where the brute had skittered off to?

The most fucked up, anger inducing aspect of it all, however, was that Rowan was a fucking looker. He was the phrase ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ personified, but with additional adjectives added on like ‘isolated’ and ‘probably kind of racist.’ If Círdan lacked self respect, there would be nothing stopping him from diving head first into fantasies about the paladin, but the case was simple: Rowan disliked Círdan and Círdan disliked him back. The occasional glances that he stole were only natural.

A sigh sounded throughout the small bedroom as he hauled himself to the edge of the bed and touched his feet to the carpeted floor. It was soft underfoot as he walked to the wide window on the far wall, running his index along the deep ridges and etched designs on the dark stained windowsill and staring out into the shadows beyond. Unlit lamps stood tall, brittle grass brushed in the wind, the streets empty — quite the stark contrast to how lively Phandalin was in the light hours. Streets bustling with life, vendors dotting the paved roads with their carts stock full of various foodstuffs and trinkets for sale. A lovely town, truly, with just the tiniest smidge of gang activity. Pros and cons. Círdan could picture himself eventually settling in a place like this, where everyone knows everyone and everyone likes everyone, for the most part. It worked for some distant, vague future he could possibly see himself in. But for now he was fine nomadic, married to a life of travel and adventure and service to Rhemus, because that’s what he had grown familiar with. It was his own little loose routine and it defined him. He half feared that settling down would make him lose his spark. That concept scared him; he resigned to not thinking about it most days, staying wholly in the present.

With one hand propping up his head, Círdan continued to stare, slipping out of reality. He stayed that way for a while, in a sort of half-trance state, before he picked up on a subtle noise — an almost imperceptible shh shh shh coming from a direction he couldn’t quite place. He blinked once, twice, before shaking his head to regain clarity. He honed in on the sound, focused hard to try and hear it again.

Shh shh. Chh.

He craned his neck back to stare at the door, nearly positive that that was where the sound was coming from. Heartbeat quickening, he stared, noticing the subtle shift of the doorknob, as if someone was struggling to enter. Círdan ghosted his hand over the dagger still attached to the belt draped across his waist.

With a creak, the door slid open painfully slowly. Instead of a criminal, it was Rowan who staggered in, and he looked like a mess. Certainly the most disheveled Círdan has ever seen him during their short tenure as colleagues — and that was saying a lot, as they’d gone through strenuous battle together.

His hair was slick with sweat at his forehead, stuck in thin strands against his skin. He was leaning against the doorframe, fists clenched, gaze downcast.

Círdan just stared, unsure of what to do or say. Clearly something was wrong with the man, but he couldn’t tell what. There were no visible wounds or tears in his garments, but his eyes were half lidded like he was on the verge of collapse.

“Rowan?”

His gaze snapped up to meet Círdan’s quickly. He looked almost startled to hear the other man speak. He didn’t respond, just stood there, hunched slightly with a heaving chest.

“Rowan?” Círdan repeated.

“You need— to leave,” Rowan finally punched out.

His voice was so strained and gravelly and genuinely urgent that Círdan felt goosebumps prickle the back of his spine.

The taller man entered the room with a stumble and headed to his bedside table. He fumbled with his waistband for a second before pulling out his dagger and placing it down. He didn’t turn around after that, stayed facing the wall behind the table, shoulders taut and full of visible tension.

“What? Why? What’s wrong with you?”

“It doesn’t matter, you— you need to go.”

Círdan was getting nervous. “Why? Is someone coming?“

“No— fuck,” Rowan cursed. His body trembled with every breath, and it was so incredibly unnatural to see a man who was normally so stoic looking like he was on the precipice of complete chaos. “Someone…. I was out…” His words were half-slurred as he tripped over them and Círdan felt urgency and dread beat harshly in his chest like a snare drum. He took a half-step back, uncertain.

“I went out…outside. Fresh air,” Rowan struggled to say, “and there was a— a Red Brand. Looking to do some kind of tradeoff, I think…” It sounded like it was taking genuine effort for him to get words out, let alone string them together coherently. He swallowed thickly, wetting his lips and turning his head slightly to the side so half of his face was revealed to Círdan. “He had these vials, was acting real sketchy. I got up, he got nervous. Emptied a— a whole vial in my face.”

“So… what?” Círdan asked, fidgeting with his sleeve nervously. “What was in the vial?”

Rowan didn’t answer, just turned his head back to stare blankly at the wall. He was relatively still, the only indicator of his inner turmoil being his hands gripping the edges of the table hard, knuckles white from the force of it.

“Rowan?“ Círdan prompted again. Silence was bad. Maybe it was poison. Maybe he was about to keel over and fucking die on the dusty inn floor.

“You need to leave,” Rowan repeated darkly.

“Stop fucking saying that. Tell me what was in the vial.”

“This is so– fucking stupid.” Rowan turned fully then. He looked frantic in the way a caged animal would be. “Why is it so important for you to know every little detail? Why can’t you just listen to me?” Beads of sweat slid down his neck, collecting on his already damp undershirt.

Círdan would have been pissed at his tone if the circumstances were different, but the pure desperation in the other man’s voice amplified his worry tenfold.

“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me,” he said.

“You don’t want to help,” Rowan huffed, voice lifting at the end of his short sentence, almost like he was holding back a dry laugh.

“I do.”

“No, you don’t understand. You don’t… shit—“ Rowan’s voice cracked at the curse and he wrenched his gaze away, staring at the floor. He almost looked embarrassed with just how flushed and sweaty he was and his newfound aversion to eye contact. Rowan brought a hand quickly down to the waistband of his pants to fidget with it, and it was then when Círdan noticed.

There was a bulge in Rowan’s pants.

He stared.

Rowan breathed heavily, looked back up, immediately seeming to notice the line of sight Círdan had adopted.He turned slightly sideways in what was likely an attempt to cover his erection and regain his decency.

An incredibly awkward silence smothered the two before Rowan cleared his throat. “Aphrodisiac,” he said, curt with the delivery of the word and visibly uncomfortable.

Círdan would have laughed — he almost did, at the absurdity of it. He had no idea how to even begin to process this information, so he just took another step back and offered a quiet “oh.”

“I think it was crushed myllum root. It… has a smell to it, and— shit… you need to go.”

Embarrassment crept its way up the Drow’s spine like a vine snaking up an abandoned building. All this time, Rowan had been practically begging him to leave so he could fucking relieve himself, and Círdan had stayed, continued pestering the guy as liquid sex was pumping throughout his body.

“What, uh— what are you going to do?” Círdan stammered, and he hit himself mentally for asking. For not just making a beeline to the door and getting himself out of the situation. He didn’t know why he felt so compelled to stay and work through this situation like it was anything that concerned him.

“Fuck, Círdan,” Rowan said, “you need to go.”

Círdan’s heart stuttered at that, the way his name sounded being pushed out of Rowan’s mouth in a plea. He took note of the raw desperation, and wondered what was going through the paladin’s head. What he’d do if Círdan stayed.

Slow steps took the Drow closer to Rowan’s shuddering form. He put up a hand to halt his approach.

“No,” he pushed out, but the previous conviction in his tone was gone. He stared down at Círdan, the only thing between the two being the taller man’s raised arm.

Círdan stopped, stayed still for a few beats as he contemplated how to phrase his thoughts. “I can help you,” he said, “if you want.”

Rowan didn’t answer. Or move. Círdan wasn’t sure if he was even breathing.

“Rowan.”

Still, silence.

As seconds ticked by, the tension in the room shifted from that of the sexual kind to the devastatingly awkward kind, and it was so stifling that Círdan had to take a step back. Rowan kept staring at him with blown pupils, brows stitched together in what could have been pain, or lust, or embarrassment – or a very uncomfortable mix of the three.

Cirdan opened his mouth to say something, but any and all words had fled his mind. He felt embarrassed now, standing there aimlessly as he desperately searched for words to repair the state of the situation. Obviously he’d crossed some boundary; he had not been thinking straight, and had made things worse for all parties involved. Now that the heat of the moment had subsided, and Cirdan had the time to actually think about his actions, he realized that maybe what he’d done was totally, out-of-this-world fucked up. Rowan – his half-acquaintance, half-enemy – had stumbled into the room with brain and body addled by aphrodisiac, and the only way Cirdan had thought to help was to essentially force himself on the drugged man. Fuck.

“Look–” he started, “I think… I’m sorry if I– if I overstepped, in any way. I– Shit, I thought – Well, I don’t know what I thought–”

“Fuck. Shut up.”

Cirdan immediately stopped his rambling, mind going blank at the unexpected interruption.

Rowan, with his chest still heaving, took a step forward, and something had changed. Cirdan could tell through key subtleties that something was different: Rowan held himself up straighter, had unclenched his fists, and his eyes – they looked almost fucking predatory with how they stared unwaveringly at Cirdan’s frozen form.

“Just – go to the bed.”

“Rowan?” Círdan croaked with a suddenly dry mouth. “No, no, it’s okay, you really don’t have to—“

“Fucking shut up. Bed.”

Never in Círdan’s life had his heartbeat been so erratic. Never had his blood rushed so loudly in his ears. Also — never had he been this embarrassingly stiff in his pants. He half-thought that all of this was some fabrication created by his mind and that he’d blink awake to soon realize that none of this was real.

When Círdan made no effort to move, still in visible shock, Rowan stormed toward him. Within mere moments, Círdan was being shoved back and downwards onto Rowan’s mattress, with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. The taller man towered over the Drow in silence for a moment, perhaps contemplating, perhaps preparing himself, but before long he was back in motion, and it was almost too much. He shoved his knee between Círdan’s thighs so it rested snug against his crotch and brought a large hand down to firmly grasp his face, so tight it burned. Círdan could feel the heat radiating off of Rowan’s body, and was aware of his own temperature rising due to raw lust alone. His cock throbbed within the confines of his pants and the unrelenting pressure of Rowan’s knee was not helping at all. They’d just begun doing whatever this was and he already felt like he was on the verge of orgasm.

“F-Fuck, Rowan—,”

“Shh.”

Rowan’s grip on Círdan’s face got impossibly tighter. His hand trembled slightly.

“P-Pretty,” he muttered as he stared down.

Círdan’s heart stuttered in his chest. He tried to not think about how intimate this all felt. He knew it wasn’t Rowan’s intention to spew such strangely soft words at him, that this was all the work of the pollen. Some place deep within him ached and he did not want to go down the road of pondering why, did not want to open that can of worms. He opted for clutching Rowan’s shirt and pulling him down, overwhelmed by the sudden urge to have this onslaught of negative thoughts fucked out of existence.

Instead of succumbing to Círdan’s will, Rowan held his ground. He did not allow himself to be pulled downwards; he darted up to snag Círdan’s wandering hand and pin it down to the bed above his head.

“N-Not yet,” he said, sounding feverish. He adjusted himself so his knee was no longer pressed against Círdan’s dick, replacing it with his hand, palming him rough through his pants.

“F—fuck,” Círdan whimpered. Through his pleasure bled confusion; he’d assumed that sex with someone under the heavy influence of an aphrodisiac would be quick and to-the-point, the goal being reaching orgasm as fast as possible. But Rowan was taking painfully long to get to the point, relishing in foreplay instead of just fucking him like Círdan thought they had both desperately wanted. Círdan didn’t want to cum before the two had the chance to actually fuck, and it was starting to feel like he might.

Rowan’s touching did not cease. He kept on rubbing and teasing Círdan through his pants and grunting in response to every moan and mewl. He dropped the hand he had pinned and went to pull Círdan’s pants down, revealing his bulge in his underwear. The imprint of his dick against the fabric was clear as day, with a spot of wetness where his tip strained against it. Rowan ran his thumb along the tip over and over, watching as the spot got darker and wider by the second. Círdan bucked his hips up slightly with every run of Rowan’s finger.

“Rowan— fuck, Rowan, please—“

“Ple—please what?” Rowan’s voice cracked as he spoke, and when Círdan looked down, he saw that Rowan had taken to rubbing himself through his own pants. The sight alone almost made Círdan finish.

“Fuck— just… just fuck me already.”

Rowan groaned at that, but he didn’t listen. He made no move to flip Círdan over. What he did do, however, was momentarily stop his movements to hook his finger under the seam of Círdan’s underwear, and so frustratingly slowly, tug downwards until his dick was free of any restraints. Círdan felt his face go warm and he was acutely aware of the rapid rise and fall of his chest and stomach as he took quick, embarrassed breaths. Cum was leaking out of his tip and down his cock in thin wet lines as he twitched from sensitivity and lack of stimulation. It no longer mattered to him whether he was fucked or just touched — all he knew was that he desperately needed to cum.

“Please…” he whined.

Rowan was panting like an animal. He threw Círdan’s underwear somewhere off to the side and brought a large hand up to his length, brushing his thumb along the wetness. Círdan shuddered.

“Fuck,” Rowan muttered. He brought his hand forward slightly more and closed it around Círdan’s shaft, giving a few experimental pumps. The sound Círdan let out was guttural. His eyes screwed shut, his head fell back against the bed, his entire body clenched up so insanely tight he felt like he could snap in half from the tension. Rowan breathed heavy, going faster with his movements. “Yeah? You— you like that?” he asked, voice laced with lust. Círdan didn’t answer. He barely even processed the question with how clouded his brain was — he just bucked his hips upwards continuously, chasing the orgasm he felt steadily approaching. His lower half felt like it was burning and he was close, he was so, so, so close, he felt the muscles in his lower body contract in preparation, but then—

All at once, it stopped. The sensations ceased, the pleasure ceased. Círdan felt his heart stutter in devastation at the loss of touch. His dick was painfully hard and leaking a steady stream of precum. When he opened his eyes to figure out why Rowan had stopped, he saw that the other man had propped himself up on his knees further back on the bed. Frustration ran harsh through Círdan’s body. “Why’d you—“

“Flip over,” Rowan interrupted bluntly. A wave of arousal crested and crashed in Círdan’s stomach at the command, followed by an even larger wave of indignation. He didn’t want to comply, his mind was too fogged, too focused on immediate release. His mouth opened again to form a retort, but before any sound left his throat, Rowan was back to making demands. “Flip over,” he repeated darkly, bringing his hand down to tightly grip Círdan’s thigh so hard it hurt. Círdan sucked in a quick gasp of air at the pain.

“Or do you want me to do it for you?” Rowan continued after another stretch of silence. He left no time for a response: as soon as the demand left his mouth he was moving, wedging a strong arm under the small of Círdan’s back and hauling him upwards so he was in a half-sitting position. After that it was quick as lightning, the singular, effortless, rather aggressive motion it took for Rowan to flip Círdan over so his face and chest were flush to the mattress and his ass was pointed up. Rowan’s hand pressed down hard on the top of Círdan’s back.

“Fuck— ow—“ Círdan exclaimed, voice muffled.

Rowan did not relent in his force. He kept one hand holding Círdan down, and used the other to start undoing his own belt buckle.

Círdan was breathing in heavy pants born of mingled pain and pleasure. He shifted his legs slightly to try to get into a more comfortable position, but it was hard when Rowan was holding him down so intensely. He heard the clinking and shuffling stop behind him and felt his heart race with anticipation.

“Fuck,” Rowan breathed, voice thick with a desperate kind of lust Círdan had never encountered before. “T-Tell me you want it.”

Círdan felt his dick twitch at the words; he was so worked up he could cry. “I-I want it, Rowan. Please, please.”

“Fuck—“ Rowan sputtered. He edged slightly forward so the fronts of his thighs brushed against Círdan’s ass. It took a few more moments of adjustment and fiddling with his fly, but soon, Rowan’s dick was pressing hard against Círdan’s skin.

“R-Ready?” Rowan asked. He lined the head of his dick up with Círdan’s hole.

“Yes, yes, just fuck me already—“

Rowan pushed his hips forward. He went halfway in, paused for a moment, perhaps to adjust to the newfound tightness, and then seconds later was all the way in, balls pressed tight up against Círdan’s ass.

Círdan felt drunk with pleasure and pain and every other feeling the elven body was capable of experiencing. Rowan’s dick was huge, and it hurt, and it felt amazing, and Círdan was already so close to finishing that he had to coil the muscles in his lower abdomen to dissuade the ever-approaching wave of orgasm.

“F—Fuck — Rowan…” Círdan cried out. He was trying to thrust his own hips forward to give his dick some much needed friction, but Rowan’s force made it impossible. He could not do anything more than lay there and take it.

“Shh—shit, baby,” Rowan pushed through clenched teeth, “fuck— take it, take it…”

Círdan felt his eyes water from pure stimulation. Never in a million years would he have guessed that this is how the night was going to go, with him being fucked deep on an inn mattress by a man he so desperately wanted to dislike. His eyes were screwed shut on account of the fact that they would probably be crossed had he opened them, and he was pushing back onto Rowan’s dick to the best of his ability, wanting him deeper and harder.

“Fuck—ing s-slut,” Rowan slurred. “Wanted— wanted this since I first — shit — first saw you.”

The admission made Círdan’s stomach churn with arousal and something else, something dangerous.

“Prett—y thing, fucking annoying little…” His voice trailed off into more pants and grunts. He was close, Círdan could tell. His thrusts were getting sloppier, his sounds more frantic.

“Fuck— Círdan…”

Círdan knew the sound of his name on the paladin’s lips would not soon leave his mind. He felt like crying for ten million separate reasons, the most significant one being his too-potent pleasure, his desperate desire for release. He was on the edge.

“Fuck. Fuck, I’m gonna—“

The feeling of Rowan’s warm cum spilling inside of him was all it took for Círdan to come undone. His orgasm hit him like a tidal wave: he let out a loud groan and bucked his hips wildly onto the bedsheet, relishing in the feeling of his own seed painting the bed below him. Rowan was still fucking him, messily now, with unsteady thrusts and a loosened grip.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Rowan repeated as he neared the end of his climax. He began to slow his movements gradually until he came to a complete stop.

Círdan’s orgasm used up any energy that had been left in him. He laid still on the bed like a ragdoll, ass pointed upwards and full of Rowan’s cum.

After a beat, Rowan slid himself out. He got off of Círdan and collapsed on the mattress beside him, apparently just as spent and exhausted. They laid there in silence in their own mess of sweat and semen, eyes closed, not acknowledging one another at all as they regained their senses.

Now that Círdan’s throbbing arousal was ebbing, he had time to really think about what had just happened and the potential repercussions of it. This could have very well ruined everything. There was a good chance that now that the pollen had left Rowan’s system, he would realize this whole thing was a big, irreversible mistake. His heart rate quickened at the thought, and he was suddenly consumed by the overwhelming urge to be made privy to everything that was going on in Rowan’s mind. He looked over to the paladin, noticing he was staring blankly at the ceiling.

“So…” Círdan spoke out into the silence. He shifted himself so he was no longer on his stomach but facing Rowan with his head propped up on his arm.

Rowan did not reply.

“So,” Círdan repeated, “do you, uh— Well, that was—“

“We— don’t have to talk about it.”

Círdan felt a pang of embarrassment. This had definitely ruined everything. He began to formulate the first draft of a departure plan in his head, because surely he’d need to find an entirely new circle of people, adopt a new way of life far, far away so he would not have to think about any of this ever again. “Right, yeah,” he said. He blinked away stinging tears and cursed himself for even having tears to blink away in the first place. “Sorry if this fucked things up.”

Rowan turned his head to the side and looked at Círdan. Círdan looked back and noticed a slight frown on his face. They just stared at each other for a second.

Rowan cleared his throat. “It was good,” he said. “It— You helped. Thank you.” His tone was the gentlest Círdan had ever heard it. A flight of butterflies erupted in his stomach, and he was at a loss for words for what felt like the tenth time that night.

Círdan let out a short breath of relief. “I’m glad I could help.”

Rowan gave back the slightest smirk, but it was gone within a fraction of a second.

He turned back to face the ceiling.

“Probably gonna interfere with work, though,” he said, voice back to being all monotone and disinterested like usual.

“Yeah, maybe,” Círdan replied with a smile, and for the first time in a while, he felt content.

#dnd smut #oc smut #smut #original characters #fanfiction #mlm #fanfic #rowdan #hi #read this #picture them both really hot #yay

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warlordfelwinter · 6 months

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stature, motion, roots and change for anyone you're thinking about!

[character design asks]

Fiver, of course!

stature: What's your OC's body type? How tall are they? Do they wear clothing to accentuate their look or do they try to mask it?

he's lean but muscular, the body of someone who's been an archer for like 20+ years. he's extremely strong, but fast and limber as well, so he's not very bulky. i hc viera as being sort of predisposed toward having nice meaty muscular legs (bnuny), but he's proportionally balanced across the board cause that sort of longbow use would give him really nice arms. and back. (basically he's hot. imo. and his kick could shatter bone.) funnily enough the sliders in ffxiv have actual numbers attached to them so i know he's 6' 1.4" for the most part he wears clothing that's practical above anything else, but that would tend to accentuate his figure just bc snugger clothes would be easier to move in than baggy or flowy things. can't risk something getting caught on your bow in the middle of a fight you know. when he's not in danger of getting into battle (rare) he tends to wear things that show a lot of skin. not bc he's trying to be sexy, he just finds it comfortable. and like look at the starter viera gear, showing skin is cutural for them skld;gn

motion: How does your OC move? How does their clothing help or hinder their range of motion? Are they flexible, coordinated, clumsy?

he's extremely in control of his body. very flexible, very graceful, very precise. every movement is made with purpose. if he starts being clumsy, it's probably because he hasn't slept or eaten properly in several days or something and someone needs to hit him over the head and force him to go take a break. and he always dresses in things that allow for movement. i think restrictive clothing of any sort would start to make him feel claustrophobic

roots: Is your OC's look inspired by any specific style of clothing or fashion trend? What are the roots and/or inspiration for their look?

no, not really. i mean, since he's a video game character i don't really think about designing outfits for him like i might with a dnd character or something. his look is whatever i think looks neat in the game at the time. his old bard outfit with the warg pants was "inspired by" (taken directly from) an outfit someone posted on eorzea collection. most of his fits are just armor sets as is or dyed bc i'm not very good at mixing and matching (and a lot of the sets are just so good anyway)

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

complete wardrobe change and drastic haircut at about the same time, actually. this part of his canon to me began as an in-game thing of me using the free makeover ticket i got to give him his cute bob bc i was tired of his long hair clipping with outfits, and since then it's expanded to the lore side with me deciding that up until the beginning of heavensward, he stuck with his wood warder gear as well. the beginning of heavensward you're a fugitive, so fiver gave some small effort toward changing his looks (viera are so rare so i don't think it really helped, but he tried his best) and chopped his hair off and changed out his rava gear for more eorzean fashion. he felt strange and reluctant about making the decision, but once he saw himself in a mirror after his hair had been cut and wearing something just wildly different from his wood warder armor, he felt more like himself than he ever had. he still has his old gear, but he hasn't put it on since.

#fiver could easily snap a man's neck with his thighs like leliana #also just a fun fact that g'raha is. i believe. a min slider so he's 5' 2.7" i think #nearly a foot of height difference there #g'raha is shorter than i am #ask games #the character design one #oc: fiver #replies #xivu-arath

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dangerousthingdefendor · 6 months

Text

I wanted to show off my design for my current dnd character! Her name is Gage Hashimoto! My boyfriend(H) and his boyfriend(V) both decided to go for a Japanese inspired theme, having both deciding to use samurai inspired characters. So I edit Gage a little bit to fit with the theme, making her into a gashia and making her armor look like samurai plate armor.

We're doing the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign! Gage is a half elf/blessed vampire grave domain cleric. She worships a oc God who she calls Pluto since it didn't have a name, and she's its only follower. Her last name was given to her by her icky husband, who she's running away from!

She's just the mom of the party and the only character with a semi decent moral compass... I love her so much already! She's so cute! The party is great too! Great dynamics for character interaction and so much personality in all the characters!

I typically like to play clerics! I naturally fall into the role of "babysitting" the party, so I like to lean into that and play healing support and tank!

This is Gages' original outfit design! It's cute! I just completely forgot to consider her armor and whatnot.

She was always a vampire. She apart of this whole thing I have going on with my boyfriend of this family of elf characters that we keep adding onto! It's a joke from our first campaign together!

#dnd #my art #Gage

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thezenanna · 4 months

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Hi! Same anon that asked about Dina, Maya and Gadrielle's face shapes... I wanna ask about body shapes now. So what shapes do you tend to use when designing their bodies, how different are they from each other? What do you categorize/view their bodies being like (this can be as specific as you want it to be. I like reading your answers).

Also! If you had to assign a kibbe body type to them... What would you pick and why (I don't enjoy the kibbe body types when applied to real people. But ocs are totally fine imo).

heyyy thanks for the question!

Also totally did not know what kibbe body types were so ya learn something new every day yay! That being said, cuz I'm not quite familiar with kibbe body types so imma try my best to describe my ocs' shapes as clear as i could and hope thats suffice somehow?! (words are hard pls bare with me! >.<)

Short answer: Dina and Maya both have a gender-neutral athletic body type being a weird trait of aasimar plus the rigorous monk training. Dina is much lankier than Maya because the bitch is kinda depressed and doesn't look after herself very well, which makes the size difference between Dina and her buff blacksmith orc gf Laura very funny. Maya is slightly taller and buffer than Dina. It's one of the few things Maya would forever hold over Dina like 'im taller so im the big sister here'. Gadrielle, whom to me and my DM's pov, is very much a power femme, her body shapes is almost a small hourglass, but very graceful and she's usually in some humble but flowy and loose clothing. And yes their clothing also aids in shaping them!

Longer explanation below (if u dare)

When you design a character from a concept artist pov, u usually need to take into account their backstory, context, environment etc... So briefly the context for all my ocs here and general high fantasy dnd, which explains the magical features like elven ears, white pupiless eyes, sometimes wings, etc...

Backstory is what's the oc has gone through. Both Dina and Maya have grown up majority of their youth in the Cobalt Soul, where they've gone through rigorous monk training and discipline. Fair to say, they are incredibly in shape. Dina's fighting style however is different from Maya. Dina is a 9th level monk while Maya is a 3 Monk & 7 Warlock and has not gone through as much training as Dina did. Maya's fighting style leans more towards the warlock magic as well as brute strength at times. Dina leans towards dexterity. Maya is more buffed than Dina and Dina is lankier and leaner than Maya. On the other hand, Gadrielle grown up as a humble merchant on the streets and doesn't involve in any martial training, so her physique is rather graceful and soft. Her power lies in her charisma!

Dina doesn't wear any armor at all as a monk so very clean cut clothing that allows her mobility to shine through (croptop, baggy pants). Maya wears something of a cloak and a tough leather vest. Gad wears humble and flowly and loose garment.

Other than that is the little environment bits! Dina has gone down a lot in battles (cursing DM for well play and beat her AC every time), so Dina is sure racked up with scars, I even think there are subtle physical internal parts of her body is deformed or something after this many death saves. Maya also adorns some scars but the magic does save her from having to go toe-to-toe melee we love that for her. Gadrielle does not get in any physical fighting as far as we know of (and we surely hope so!!!)

#oc ask #you ask and i shall answer #dina and maya

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hragon · 1 year

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hi! i’ve been following you on twitter and insta for a while and ive seen a lot of your DND stuff that i love, like your artificer Ren.

i’ve recently started playing DND and i chose an artificer, i was wondering if you had any advice on playing one?

i adore and admire your art

Hi, thank you so much!!

I saw this ask days ago but I knew the answer might get lengthy, so I had to wait until I had a chance to sit down and write it. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Artificer, and it's actually replaced Rogue as my favorite DnD class.

Full disclosure though - I actually have yet to take a close look at the other artificer subclasses (battle smith, armorer, alchemist). My artificer, Ren, is an artillerist. Any thoughts I have may very well apply to other subclasses as well, but just know they'll be coming from the angle of artillerist!

So basically, bottom line, the artificer is good at just about everything (limited only by what you have prepared and available at the time), is really, really fun to play mechanically, versatile, and the class features are packed.

The rest of this is going under a read more.

Utility

While you can definitely build your artificer around a specialty (usually according to subclass), the base class is designed first and foremost for utility. Artificers are prepared casters that can swap out their spells for any other on the artificer spell list every long rest. Being half-casters means the number of spells they can have prepared at once is more limited, but the sheer number of spells they have access to is still impressive. If you look at the base artificer spell list, you might notice that very, very few of them are geared towards actual damage. Many of them can be handy in a variety of circumstances, especially if you get creative! There are excellent options for disguise, flavor, defense, and support. Also notice that many of the spells can be applied not only to the benefit of you the artificer, but to you team as well - more on that when I get to buffing. Also, casting the spells is fun! The idea behind using your tools as your spellcasting focus is that you're actually using inventions you have created, so you can flavor it however you imagine. To cast the Invisibility spell, Ren has an sphere that separates into lots of tiny butterflies with glass wings. They gather around the target of the spell in a formation, and the light reflects and refracts on the wings to bend light around the target and hide them.

And then, when you choose a subclass, you automatically get MORE SPELLS! By level 5, artillerist has gotten Shield, Thunderwave, Scorching Ray, and Shatter (more at higher levels I just don’t want to list them). Three very good, effective damager spells, two AoE, and one sniper. And then - shield. SHIELD. This spell is so important to me. Usually when you create an artificer, you may be able to lean towards higher defense armor to make up for the fact that Dexterity probably isn't one of your higher stats. Ren doesn't have that luxury, because he can fly. If I want him to be able to fly, he is limited to light armor. He is very squishy, with an AC of only 14. His team is very, very good about covering him, but if Ren does find himself in a situation, or if he needs to jump into the fray to cover a teammate for a round, Shield gives him a +5 bonus to his AC if he's hit. Imagine that +5 bonus on a character with a higher AC! You could be the one covering your teammates with that kind of defense!

And then on top of all those spells - infusions!! Not only is there that lovely list of infusions that grant defense or attack bonuses or let you create a metal homunculus servant, you can also replicate magic items! There are so many ways you could take this depending on the campaign. You could make items that let you fly, maneuver in water, or items that replace spells to either get access to other spells or just to free up room for a few more spells on your prepared list. A lot of artificer can turn into resource allocation. Or, you can make infusions and give them to your teammates, again, more on that in a bit. Take Ren's homunuclus though, a metal bird he named Joule. Joule can attack if Ren spends a bonus action. Joule can also deliver touch spells. This means that Ren can send Joule in to an enemy to deliver a Shocking Grasp without endangering himself, or he can send Joule to a teammate to deliver a Cure Wounds without spending his own movement. This is a tactic I've used a lot, it's come in very handy. Furthermore, Joule (situation allowing) might be able to use the Help action to give advantage on a roll (this ACTUALLY saved Ren's life, and recently assisted our Fighter when he found himself in a situation) and often acts as a messenger/lookout for the party. Whenever the party splits, Ren sends Joule to keep an eye on them and report back if there's trouble.

There's another part of the utility aspect here that I think often goes overlooked - CRAFTING. Artificers have SO many tool proficiencies. Use them!! Talk to your DM about crafting rules. Crafting takes time and it isn't until the higher artificer levels that trying to craft magic items on the regular becomes feasible. But there are other things you can do even earlier. For example, Ren is proficient with smith's tools. He came into some money during the first act of the game and spent it on silver, then borrowed a forge, hired a few of the apprentices for just a couple of gold a day. In only a day and a half, he silvered 20 arrows for the ranger, one of the ranger's swords, and the fighter's glaive. This was right before the group went to Avernus, which is filled with fiends and demons and devils that are resistant to non-silvered weapons. That contribution alone from Ren has made a HUGE difference in combat. My DM introduced some other crafting options (The Complete Armorers Handbook Weapon and Armor Upgrade System from DM's Guild), so Ren also muffled the armor of our fighter and cleric, allowing them to wear the heavy armor with higher defense without any penalties to their stealth.

Class Features

This is where I am only able to comment on artillerist. But OH DO I HAVE THOUGHTS-

Artillerist gets some nice features like a 1d8 bonus to attacks with Arcane Firearm, but what I really want to talk about is, of course, their cannons. Their class features revolve around this. You can spend a turn action to create one of three options: a force cannon (delivers 2d8 damage and blasts the target back 5 feet), a flamethrower (delivers 2d8 damage on a failed save in a 15-foot cone), and a protector cannon (grants temporary hp to anyone of the artificer's choice within 10 feet of it). You can make one cannon per day for free, but you can spend spell slots if you need to make another one later.

I need to emphasize that while it takes a turn action to create a cannon, it is only a bonus action to fire it. You can attack with the cannon on the same turn you make it. Also, on subsequent turns?? You have an entire turn action to do whatever you want with!! You can cast a utility spell to help with battlefield control, or a buff spell to help your teammates, or a damage cantrip like Firebolt (the artificer's bread and butter) which stacks with the 1d8 damage bonus, or whatever else you want to do - and you'll still have your cannon left for the bonus action.

You can make these cannons either tiny, so they are small enough to hold, or small objects, that occupy their own space. Small cannons can be fixed, or can move 15 feet as part of your bonus action. I used to favor the handheld cannons because of their mobility. We had several combats that involved a chase, so it was easier for Ren to just carry the cannon with him. However, I recently discovered the true power of the cannons. All of them have an AC of 18 and hit points equal to 5 x your artificer level. Which leads me into...

Battlefield control

An AC of 18 and hit points equal to 5 x artificer level is basically a whole other character on the battlefield with you!! We found ourselves in an intense combat recently with two powerful enemies moments away from flanking our artillerist and our fighter. Our fighter was already fighting one, and a helmed horror statue (bad!!) just knocked down the door to the room. Ren dropped a cannon in the doorway.

That statue could NOT get through that cannon. That AC of 18 kept it out of the room for the rest of the combat. The one round where the statue actually did hit the cannon, and with a multiattack, it wasn't enough damage to take it out. Ren then cast Mending to restore the cannon's hit points. Hilarious. And it bought our fighter enough time to take out the other enemy, and the rest of our group time to get to the back of the building and assist us. Plus, at higher levels: the cannons count as half cover...AND you can make and command two of them at once...AND they can explode!

Also consider all the AoE spells and how they can be used to help the flow of combat in your favor. There are damage dealing spells like Fireball, or utility spells like Grease. Consider the force cannon and the 5-foot pushback it delivers on a hit. We ran into some trouble when an enemy was physically stopping our vehicle from moving forward, and all we had to do was make it let go for an instant. Ren constructed a cannon with his action, fired at it with his bonus, and forced it just 5 feet away - but it was enough, and we were on our way. Imagine using that to knock enemies around the battlefield - away from your friends, or in the range an AoE spell you can unleash on the same turn.

Versatility

Artificers can swap between offense, defense, and support/buff in an instant.

Artillerists can snipe with Firebolt or Scorching Ray from a distance. They can unleash AoE attacks like Thunderwave or Fireball. They can heal their teammates. They can use their homunculus to deliver touch spells if they need to. They can jump in and play defense for a round with Shield. They can give their allies a temp hp bump with the protector cannon.

Another sometimes overlooked power of the artificer though - BUFF YOUR TEAM.

Looking at the artificer spell list, consider spells like Faerie Fire, Sanctuary, Aid, Enhance Ability, Enlarge/Reduce, Invisibility, Magic Weapon - all of these and more that can give your team significant advantages. I really believe that part of the reason artificer is so based in utility, and so versatile, and so adaptable, is not to stand alone but so the artificer can cover the team - fill in any holes and enhance their strengths.

With infusions, it's totally understandable to focus on giving your build those bonuses. Especially if your build is meant to be combat effective and you're handling a lot of the front-line action yourself. But for Ren, who is quite squishy, and who isn't built for front-line combat, it's much more advantageous to give those infusions to his party members. Since he silvered one of the ranger's swords, he infused the other one to be a Radiant Weapon. He also gave our cleric a defense bump (so there wouldn't be TWO people with low AC lol!!). This works well in this group, because the better protected his companions are, the better protected he is, too. But it might not work for everyone!

Just consider your party makeup and decide where your artificer would be most effective with spells and infusions.

Multiclassing

Artificer isn't a class I would personally recommend multiclassing with. Being a half-caster means artificer doesn't see higher level spells for quite some time, and the class features are good enough that sticking primarily with artificer is worth it. However, I do think you can get away with multiclassing 2-3 levels into another class. Wizard is the obvious pick, since they are also Intelligence-based casters. This is actually quite a good move, especially for artillerist. Just two levels in wizard will get you the Sculpt Spells feature, which lets you carve out areas of safety within your AoE attacks. That means you can cast Fireball without frying your teammates. Additionally, and this would be the case with a multiclass into any full caster class, you more spells and more cantrips that you can have prepared at one time, and more spell slots, which of course is incredibly useful. My recommendation here would be to move utility spells onto the wizard list, making room for damage spells on the artificer list that can stack with Arcane Firearm in the case of artillerist.

Of course, Ren's situation is a little unique. Being in an Avernus game, most of the enemies we encounter are resistant or immune to fire. And artillerist is skewed towards fire, with its signature spells including Firebolt, Scorching Ray, and Fireball. Resistance you could actually get around very easily with the Elemental Adept feat. Immunity is the BIG problem for me because there is no feat to get around that. However, the sorcerer class has a Metamagic feature that lets you change the damage type of your spells. You could take a feat that gives you this as well (Metamagic Adept), but you would only get two uses of it per day. Given that Firebolt is Ren's main attack, and every enemy we encounter has a high likelihood of resistance/immunitiy, I felt that two uses wouldn't be enough. So, I multiclassed into sorcerer and with that got some fun abilities, the extra spells and cantrips to free up my artificer list, and am one level away from the Metamagic I need. It's a steeper dip than wizard (3 levels instead of 2) and generally wouldn't be the most optimal option for artificer, but it was the best option for Ren considering the environment of this campaign.

But yeah! There are a ton of ways you can build out artificer. Check out the other subclasses and see how they stack, because I'm sure they have similar strengths as artillerist does! Artificer is my favorite class and I hope this gave you some ideas for how to play yours!

#artificer #replies #edits post to add 'i cast gun' gif #ren #my baby boy

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