#maerilyth

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

At long last, I’m finally able to post the Tarokka portraits I painted for my Curse of Strahd party! I’ve been sitting on these since January, waiting to reveal them...and it’s finally time.

More about the party, and the cards, under the cut.

Clay Mildflower, Halfling Ranger

“A deceptive card. You look on him, and you think - gods, what a fearsome face, hmm? But he is just a spirit of the past, child - and such spirits seek you now. He cannot help that he is not a pretty thing.”

The party’s cinnamon roll, too good for Barovia, too pure. Eager to learn, eager to listen, and willing to believe the possibility of good in anyone - even zombies and extraplanar aliens. Despite being the adoptive son of a dwarven scholar with all the thirst for knowledge and bookishness such a life fostered in him, Clay is drawn inexorably to the wilderness and the nature his father found him among.

But under that sweet, soft exterior lies a surprising amount of resolve. Of all the party, he’s been the least cowed by Barovia’s horrors. And the least squeamish! Curiosity and need to understand overrides any ick factor, so if the party need someone to examine a body, Clay’s the halfling for the job.

(He's also been picking up pets at a rate of knots: since his arrival in the party, they have gained two dogs and two birds.)

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Arturo, Firbolg Paladin - @lucy-whitechicken

“Ah, the Mists. This card speaks of struggle. Of seeking in the gloam, of battling storms of the spirit. Truer here than ever, lost lover, you will be tested. Do not lose heart. Hold fast to that light of yours.”

It would be extremely reasonable to mistake Arturo for a bard if you were to sight him out of his gleaming coppery armour - he lives a life of song and poetry, roaming without any particular aim or direction to spread the joy of nature through lilting word and music. Before being spirited away to Barovia it would not be unusual to find him in a tavern, chatting away, telling tales of joy and wonder, or hitching rides with travelling bands.

Arturo's taken on the role of protector figure within the party, and fast became attached to the small and nature-loving halfling Clay. He'll not stand for injustice or needless harm, and the all-pervading unnatural aura of Barovia has left them unsettled in the extreme. To realise not a soul in this land has ever seen a blue sky overhead...that is true horror.

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Maerilyth Ondorren-Vandiir, Wood Elf Rogue - @1nchwyrm

“You are no raven, girl. But I see the intent in the reading. Little magpie, this card speaks of potential. You fly alone, you are bad luck no matter how much shine you line your nest with. Is that not the saying? One for sorrow. Ravens know better.”

Some young nobles grow into their roles and responsibility admirably. Maerilyth Ondoren-Vandiir, unfortunately, is not those young nobles. No, she's had a hundred years of living large, enjoying the seemingly-endless well of the family coffers and all the luxuries that gold can buy. Until her parents decided enough was enough, that is. No more raging parties. No more making eyes at her new favourite stable-hand through the window and ignoring all that her tutors so desperately tried to teach her. And definitely no more using the family gold on ear extensions, or anything else for that matter.

Alas, all that resulted was a very proficient teen shoplifter.

The brightest and most responsible member of the party Maerilyth may not be, but she’s light on her feet, has a knack for unorthodox problem-solving and is no stranger to the power of a confidently delivered lie. And perhaps Barovia will be the education in consequences that her parents failed to instill...

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The Cards

Upon awakening in Barovia, each of the party discovered a card wrapped in black silk on their person: The Ghost, The Mists, and the Raven. There was all kinds of speculation on their meaning, but only last session have they had the chance to have the cards interpreted by someone familiar with the symbology of the Tarokka - the mysterious Madam Eva herself, who seemed...less than impressed by the rudeness of whatever foolish person performed this secret reading.

Who is responsible for that, the party is yet to uncover.

It’s been absolutely killer sitting on these drawings since January, unable to post them anywhere!! When I finished them, I was sure I’d only be a couple of sessions before I could reveal them....but then some life things happened and there was an unexpected hiatus. I’m so, so glad to be back - and the amount of yelling that happened when I gave them the handouts made it so, so worth the wait. <3 I have the best players and best friends.

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

A lil sketch from our most recent Curse of Strahd game - Ireena and Maerilyth chatting over the view of a ghostly procession.The sight might be darkly nostalgic for Ireena, but...well, Maerilyth’s not so sold on the pasttimes of her new companion’s youth. (I wish I could’ve adequately depicted Maerilyth’s palpable disdain.)

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

Headshot tokens for Tower Party! Introducing the fantastic trio I’ve been DMing for:

Left: Maerilyth Ondoren-Vandiir, Wood Elf Rogue (Noble)

You know those obnoxious shoplifting rich kids? That’s Maerilyth. She’s not even a century old, and already she’s been kicked out by her noble parents for spending their gold willy-nilly on parties, clothes, and ear extensions. (How very fashionably Sylvan they look!) They thought it would ‘teach her financial responsibility’. It just kind of taught her to steal.

Center: Clay Mildflower, Halfling Ranger (Sage)

An ex-feral child, raised by a Dwarven academic who taught him to read and write - and he’s been chugging his way through his mentor’s library ever since! Clay loves his mastiff, Apollo, just as much as he loves to discover the world beyond the life of a sheltered scribe. He’s a relentless force of empathy and optimism, and will try to make friends with quite literally just about anything given the chance.

Right: Lucan Arvansis, Half-Elf Warlock (Charlatan)

Lucan’s absolutely of noble blood - he looks the part, talks the part, and he’s even got the paperwork of pedigree to prove it. He’s good at the paperwork. A bit of light forgery to turn smuggled goods into perfectly legitimate trade items is Lucan’s usual fare. Then he can spend his ill-gotten gold on sleeping-draughts, because the sudden aptitude with magic is wonderful, but the indecipherable whispers in his dreams he could sorely do without.

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

I arrived a bit late to the party, but I had a lot of fun drawing my friends and mutuals’ D&D characters/OCs over on twitter! It was a blast and I’d love to do it again some time.

Feat. @spookywriters‘ Dorian, @lucy-whitechicken‘s Arturo, Avery’s Clay, Madds’ Nimmy, Tom’s Lucan, @androgynosaurus‘ Etney, @1nchwyrm‘s Maerilyth, and PMM‘s Zale!

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

4, 7, 27 and 31 for the d&d asks!

4. What has been your favorite d&d character you've played? (NPCs count, for DMs!)

It’s still gotta be Nothing, my tiefling warlock. I just love her. She’s really taken on such a life of her own in the time I’ve played her, so it’s just great to take off my Socket Hat and go be a gobby, scrappy devil teenager for a bit.7. How do you go about making a character or NPC? 

I swear, they jump into my head fully-formed half the time! I’ll stumble into a concept I like: a wizard with social anxiety who builds constructs to practice small talk with, or an ethical necromancer who just wants to learn about history from people who were there at the time. The rest ends up snowballing in a slew of ‘OH but what if THIS!’. Then it’s just a case of stats, playing them, and discovering they’re not half of the things I thought they’d be!

27. If you could cast one spell from d&d, which would you cast? 

Oof, that’s a hard choice. I’m torn between Prestidigitation (so multi-purpose! never need to do the dishes again!) and Simulacrum (having a second self around the house would be useful in so many ways). Or maybe Speak With Animals, because I’ve always wished I could just politely ask spiders if they’d mind avoiding my room...

31. Tell me about your current party!Well, I’m currently DMing Curse of Strahd at the moment for an absolutely fantastic group - so I’ll talk about them! Under the cut, though, because brevity’s not my strong suit. :P

They’re a party of a rogue, warlock, ranger and paladin! The paladin, Arturo, is the newest addition, having only stumbled into the others on the very evening they ended up transported to Barovia.

Individually, we’ve got... Maerilyth Ondoren-Vandiir, a wood elf in high elf’s clothing. She’s the spoiled daughter of an affluent family, with the fashion sense to match. Also, a high-end shoplifter. Her parents tried to nudge her out of the nest to learn financial responsibility and it just kind of didn’t work. She’s just irresponsible to her core, having never really dealt with ‘consequences’ in her life. She gets on like a house on fire with...Lucan Arvansis, a dashing young half-elf and ‘fellow noble’. He’s not technically heir to anything, and boy is he quietly bitter about that. In the meantime, a forged scroll of pedigree and a silver tongue (his -1 in INT disguised remarkably well by his +3 in CHA) is doing the trick well enough. And he’s got his unseelie patron at his back, who’s there to help him earn back his stolen title by hook or by crook. Or by eerie black-glass sickle, if need be.Then there’s the little halfling, Clay Mildflower, ex-feral child and adopted son of a dwarven scholar. Inquisitive, empathetic, and fascinated by elven culture - his rural, dwarf-majority home doesn’t see much of that! (Maerilyth and Lucan’s presence is slowly wearing away the rose-tinted view, haha.) For reasons he doesn’t wholly understand, the wild still calls to him - though he loves his books, and his Dad, he feels just as at home in the deep of the forest.And the newest addition is the big, gentle firbolg, Arturo. No last name, no concept of how old they are - just a protector of the forests with soft music and all Sylvanus’ joy in their heart. And a longsword in their hands, because you can’t protect people with song alone. In the darkness of Barovia they’ve been proving a steadying, comforting presence - and if anyone needs bodily picking up and lifting away from danger, Arturo’s big highland cow arms are all the better to cradle with!I can’t describe how much I’m enjoying DMing this group.