#IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE BLOOD DRAGON ARMOR :C

[invinciblerodent]

i al

Just curious where people stand on this. Please feel free to expand on your answer in the comments/tags, I’m curious about people’s reasons for doing one or the other!

[mx-lamour]

Costuming Strahd: Art Addendum

I didn't include any mention of the official Dungeons & Dragons art for Strahd von Zarovich in my previous post, because I had dismissed it outright. There, I said it.

I shall strive to amend my folly in this addendum.

Let's start with that 5e cover:

I generally approve of this representation. No doubt it colored my concept of Strahd's silhouette, since this is the first image of Strahd I came into contact with, some two or three years ago.

The shape of this garb is much like what I was aiming for in my previous post. Strahd is sporting a crisp shirt with stiffened, buttoned cuffs, much like our modern button-downs or blouses spanning back into the mid-1800s. His torso is trim in a fitted vest with standing collar, which easily fits into the category of fantasy-Renaissance. Speculation on from where/when exactly the inspiration comes might be a futile effort; it would find itself at home among the elves in The Lord of the Rings, and I'm not about to dig into that concept work just now.

Actually, what his vest reminds me of most is 15th century brigandine [or tabard (see below), which would cover brigandine or a breastplate, which is why] it's the right length, if nothing else.

Reconstructing History, He's literally Elrond, and some brigandine

I believe I said it's easy to fake good pants, especially when sitting down. This example reinforces my point. His legs are indeed covered, and the result is not garish. Not particularly exciting, but nonetheless successful. You could probably even call them hose if you really wanted to.

His boots are literal extant riding boots, from "early 20th c." England, and honestly I'm so proud of this one-to-one reference.

[Fig. 1] and [Fig. 2], although my first thought had been Victorian cycling boots.

The cape draped around his shoulders appears to be quite thin and probably only falls to about his fingertips, since it doesn't drape over the chair cushion and he's not sitting on it. It could look like some kind of military cape. Or maybe even, to drag him back a few centuries again, something Elizabethan.

I'll do a whole thing on capes later.

Moving on...

Early Strahd von Zarovich was definitely Dracula by another name, but later art has been pretty consistently (from what I can see) this other red/blue outfit, with baffling ruby clasps instead of a single pendant around his neck.

That last one has me. To be fair, it's the only one gazing back at the observer... >.>

Look. This garb is sexy. It cannot be understated. While it's not what I'm going for in my own costume foray, this is a fantastic design. Here's why:

The line where blue meets red along his ribcage accentuates his chest. That same red draws the eye down over his crotch, subtly curving to accomodate his thighs. Those chains on his cloak and the sash around his waist are positively drippy, like the source of the Ivlis pouring down to the Tser Pool. The asymmetry of that and his mismatched shoulders gives him such a dynamic slant, something to visually climb back up like handholds on the face of a cliff. And the sash is supple, in direct contrast to his armored hips, solid and stalwart. His limbs are clad in slim nondescript brown, making it all the easier to focus in on his center, in high contrast dotted with solid rubies. The red and blue both, especially together, are blood colors, indicative of veins hidden beneath the skin.

He might be covered from toe to jaw, but this is an intimate costume.

Despite my appreciation for it, though, again, I personally am trying to make something a little less Lord of the Rings. For reasons.

So, let's see what I can come up with in terms of historical inspiration... if anything, lol.

This is going to be fairly stream-of-consciousness. (Not that it wasn't already, I suppose.)

The first thing that came to mind was a kaftan (or zupan?), because they can be fitted through the torso and feature a standing collar and embellished closures up the front. But, kaftans from Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and other areas touched by those cultures usually also have sleeves. I finally found the two illustrations below without sleeves, but they were difficult to track down and I'm not sure how much of what they depict is imaginary. (Although the sword, pouch, and helmet from the first one are definitely from an extant burial site.)

There's also the Polish kontusz, where the arms can be worn out of the sleeves, with the sleeves flipped back, and that can give the illusion of sleevelessness... A lot of examples I found of this particular garment are also open to the waist, which is delightfully provocative, but doesn't resemble the Strahd ensemble.

Examples from Chernigov (Ukraine) and apparently Moldova; a Polish kontusz

I can think of little source material for that long, pointed fantasy hemline, but allow me to grasp at some straws.

The straws in question.

Actually, this brings up a really good point of inquiry. Where does this drapery-between-the-legs situation that modern fantasy seems to be so enamoured with come from?

Tabards would seem the obious answer, but even that, in modern parlance, is used as an umbrella term for a wide range of garments that may or may not have any true basis in reality.

There's also just... loin cloths, I suppose, which can look like a piece of fabric just draped over the crotch and hanging between the legs, but there's usually more to it than that.

At last, after some digging around, I came across the video below. Bless Shad for his contribution to society.

It goes over all the the differences between those various styles of garment usually bearing symbols of allegiance all lumped together as "tabards", and presented me one more vocabulary word with which I was not yet familiar: the scapular.

Alas, monastic garb is my blind spot. Silly that I've played at least five clerics so far.

To summarize, I think the that the shape of the lower part of Strahd's... whatever-it-is... is inspired by a mix of these garments described in the video. It's short like a tabard should be, and has that dip between the legs reminiscent of a scapular.

But, ultimately, this thing is a waistcoat. Not a waistcoat in the Victorian sense; a waistcoat in the mid-18th century sense.

Monk wearing a scapular, and some fancy waistcoats.

Finally, the very-high standing collar on Strahd's waistcoat smacks of a couple things: Russia (again), or the Regency era. Although, in the Regency years, waistcoats became much shorter (ending at the waist) and lengthened up the other way with high standing collars. But, if you were to combine the two waistcoats above and throw in some suggestive high-hip cutouts like a 1980's leotard, you might come out with something that resembles what Strahd is wearing in all that sumtuous art.

The one with the sash really drives the comparison home.

With the initial kaftan comparison and this guy with the funny hair (a Count Vasili, coincidentally) above, Strahd von Zarovich's red/blue fantasy garb is also giving the Motherland, and folks, I already said that I was trying to keep blatant Russia out of Barovia (as much as that garb clearly slaps). But I also recently remembered due to this post that I am a total sucker for Russian pet names, so... who knows.

In the end... do I know what I'm doing? Absolutely not. I'm not sure which of these elements will filter into further consideration for my own Strahd von Zarovich costume, but I'm definitely glad I gave all this a look. Absolutely worth it. Learned a lot. ♡

[3gremlins]

da release date trailer thought: yeah it looks good! kinda sad they went with a more generic paler masc rook as the lead in this tho...like teaser trailer rook looked so good!? and this one looks kinda boring/seen it tbh, like at least make them an elf/qunari/dwarf and/or femme or something if you're trying to show off a different rook. just feels like a step back/bit of a cop out. also making them sword and board, like i love paladins too but they're much more visually boring than rogues sorrynotsorry. my heart when the griffon showed up again tho. i fucking love griffons guys you have no idea T.T rn i like davrin, bellara and lucanis best so far i think...i'm sure i'll romance all of the companions at some point, but those three are in the lead for first pt. tho maybe someone will show up and surprise me early on lol.

possibly unpopular opinion? kinda meh on morrigan showing up again, like i do like her but i just don't need her in the plot line anymore. prob because i usually play elves, i really resented her presence in DAI with all the elven lore stuff like you know who had a great set up to be involved with this??! MERRILL WHERE IS MERRILL?? you all said her fixing the mirror would have big implications but NAH. rip da2 you had the best companions/story bones and deserved more love than ea wanted to give you.

ALSO MY BOI THE BLOOD DRAGON ARMOR IS BACK BABY! unfortunately have to pre-order for it tho T.T still glad to see it back again tho. also maybe snag the art book, i don't think i care about the big $150 package of stuff with no game (that seems like a bad deal and they really need to call out more explicitly that it doesn't include the game- like it's in the description but should be in the title/bigger)

also also- excited to see solas' wolfsona finally but a little worried b/c it looks more like a hyena monster and not a cool multi-eyed smoky wolf creature like it does in all the concept arts/in game lore arts. obviously just a tiny glimpse in the trailer but a little concerning (like hyenas are cool but not what i want here in this instance)

excited for october tho! halloween release date (maybe, we'll see if it doesn't get pushed back but still SOONish)

[sage-is-in-fact-very-tired]

Okay! Finally I have the recent sherb lists (only from Sherbert's stream though- I gotta go check Centross' and the one heyhay mcci one today-)

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[FROM SHERBERT STREAM "MESSING AROUND IN THE 1.20 SNAPSHOT!"]

-Blood is still faint, but further down their face

- Maniquine (The one with C!Sherbert's fit) is gone from frame

- They open minecaft, light doesn't change

- Among Us are white and red

- Wack Music #1 (A Jack Stauber song started playing)

- Wack Music #2 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- Wack Music #3 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- "It's *my* music, nice." (The only music C!Sherbert listens to is Jack Stauber. Presumably this is why CCC!Sherbert refers to it as "My Music," once again referring to C!Sherbert in first person.)

- Searching up "NETH", really quietly they went, "Netherum?"

- Wack Music #4 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- "I love these songs, they're my songs. I listen to them all the time."

- "Which look most like my converse?" (Refering to C!Sherbert's Yellow/Purple converse as 'my converse')

- "I can make my armor at some point" (Referring to C!Sherbert's armor in 1st person)

- Wack Music #5 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- Wack Music #6 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- Sherbert going "Don't take this as Canon" when trying to remember their wings name. (Implying the rest of this whole bit *is*)

- Wack Music #7 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- "I won't lie, my favorite flower is a blue orchid, but it may change to this."

- Wack Music #8 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing)

- Wack Song #9 (Another Jack Stauber song started playing. This one ran shorter.)

- "Rae is gonna- Rae is gonna ascend." (Talking about the new bookshelves.)

- "Rae is gonna love these. I gotta make him some whenever I- whenever I see him again." (Again, talking about the new bookshelves.)

- "I've never speedrun before." "I've only been to the end once." "I have no idea what I'm doing."

- "It's been a long time since I've had to, I dunno, start over."

- "It's been about a year or so." (Season 2 of Fable went on for about a year before the finale.)

- "I don’t know I’ve never done this before"

- "I guess I killed the dragon that one time but I don’t know."

- "I am birb, I got my little wing ears and everything"

- "Yeah, I'll be used to the thunder, I'm not worried about that."

- "'Funky eyes,' I already have a funky eye, i cant handle more."

- "I am not used to being in a new world, kinda forgot this was a thing."

- "I guess if Momboo’s not here then it won’t rain, huh."

- "Always thunder is a lie. I geuss Momboos not here to do that, so I guess that's fine."

- "We gotta go to the moon again."(Refering to the time they played portal. (Portal!Sherbert))

- "'Turn yourself into a warden,' Uh, that's trauma."

- "I guess we're going to the moon again. I wasn't on the moon for a very long time last time, but i definitely was up there." (Portal!Sherbert)

- Sherbert seems a tad stressed (While trying to get to the moon.)

- "Last time I was here I was just kinda getting rid of a robot." (Portal!Sherbert)

- "Well I guess the dude I left up here is doing pretty good for himself." (Portal!Sherbert)

- "Honestly not the weirdest thing that has happened to me. I wont lie, I've had way weirder things happen to me. Objectively. "

- "Giant warden? But this is just going to give me trauma."

- "I got to go to the moon again." (Portal!Sherbert)

- Goes to sleep at the end, same way they end lore.

《▪︎▪︎》

[FROM SHERBERT STREAM "THIS GAME MIGHT MAKE ME CRY"]

- Blood a little further down their face

- Blood around their eye a little darker

- Scar (C!Sherbert's scar) is back

- When asked what crimes they commited, they listed some thing that C!Sherbert did.

- "Jerold where are you? I thought you left me too..." (..so many things. So many things about that sentence.)

- "At least this box is grey, i think I would be a lot worse if I was in another one of the black boxes." "'No obby.' Yeah, exactly."

- "How long is my sentence I’m not necessarily saying I want to get out."

- "I've spent time in boxes before."

- "Might rip up my clothes a little, but it's okay."

- "At least I have something to do in prison this time."

- "You know. This isn't - This isn't to far off from my communicatior.."

- "'Are things talking to right now?' I mean, sure, yeah. I'm in a prison, not sure how else you would be talking to me."

- "'Charles did it,' Yeah, probably."

- They sound nervous. Very akin to how C!Sherbert sounded when they got put in the prison

- Light Blue and Green/Lime Among us.

- "You don’t have to spend your money on games, I’m okay."

- "I've done this before."

- "Do I get out ever?"

- "Atleast not in the ones I've been in, isn't there supposed to be an outside area?"

- "I'd like to get out I probably have some people I'd like to see, maybe… Maybe…"

-"'You remember the prison?' Yeah I remember a lot of things."

-"I'm pretty sure I have people waiting for me on the outside."

-"'Time seems to go slower when in prison,' Yeah. Something like that."

-"Is that an eye? Ugh….Illuminati confirmed."

- "I'm sure they don't want my eye."

- "'What's you eye doing?' Bleeding like always."

- "You know, my communicatior didn't have games."

- "Me and a significant amount of objects that can speak-"

- "I've done things in the past, but I'm pretty sure in the past - 8 days, not the ones in here, i havent done anything that warrents prison." (The finale was 8 days ago.)

- "'Another almost happy ending.' Yeah."

- When Sherb closes the game, they sorta do their thing they do at the end of lore. (You know what I'm talking about-)

《▪︎▪︎》

[FROM SHERBERT STREAM "ADVENTURE FOR THE LIL CRAB GUY"]

- Blood seems a tad darker

- Orchids have moved (??)

- Scar (C!Sherbert's) is still there

- Among Us are Red and Orange (Differing from the last time they were on Mer - Which was Orange and Green.)

- They opened minecaft and the light changed to lime green

- "'What happened to the purple and yellow Among uss?' These are the Among Us? This is what they've always been."

- Krit finds an emerald with Quixian written on it, Translates to 'MAYBE THIS ONE?' (Ψ⦚⍔⏚⏅ ṽ⌗⌘⏄ ⍕⍔⌮ - FILTH ZAOP ULV - YBEMA STHI NEO - MAYBE THIS ONE) Presumably Quixis attempting to figure out where Sherbert went after they went through the portal. (Though, if they are in charge of the Rave-Room, presumably they do know where the portals go, and would know that they didn't go through the one to Mer after tye Fable one went out.)

- Centross walks into their room, They have a little crab-claw thingy. They click it. A lot, and Sherb goes 'It's like me, Ahhh-' (Acknowledging things IRL while also in character.)

- "'Little Itty Bitty Bell,'" Yeah, for the Bits!" (Acknowledging things IRL things in character.)

- Wack Music #1 (Not the usual ambient Mer music. At least, I don't think.)

- They close minecaft, Lights change back to yellow.

《▪︎▪︎》