#szarkai drow

[whitegoldtower]

“The Most Level Sunken Chapel” - Fineliner on paper

I finally finished the big, detailed Kar’niss piece!!! It took me two whole days but I got there eventually. Calling this one “The Most Level Sunken Chapel” since it’s based on the lyrics of ‘Black Milk’ by Massive Attack (because I think those lyrics are what’s going through Kar’niss’ head the first time my ranger plants one on him and their brains connect). Also included moonflowers in the border because in my headcanon, these are what Tam’lin associates with Kar’niss.

My Tav is a gloomstalker ranger and a szarkai drow named Tam’lin. He was raised in Menzoberranzan to be ‘planted’ on the surface as a spy and an assassin, but he legged it at the first opportunity and used his ‘training’ to become a folk hero named ‘The Nightwatchman’. He’s got a soft spot for the outcasts and downtrodden, and thus fits right in with the other party members. 🕷️🖤🕸️

[sweetmage]

I just love him so much 💞

[blighted-elf]

Baldur's Gate 3 - Ry'on as a Sword Dancer of Eilistraee

[karniss-bg3]

I figured you’d be the right person to ask this question, why is Kar’niss’ skin super pale when he was originally a drow? 🖤

I had the same question myself and I did some digging a bit ago. All of the official drider concept art I've seen has depicted driders with dark skin, so it stands to reason that the transformation alone wouldn't be enough to alter his appearance. This leaves one interesting theory at play; Kar'niss was a Szarkai.

Szarkai, which translates to "ghost spiders", are albino drow. This is a very rare mutation that affects only 0.1% of the drow population. Their skin tones are so light in fact that they are able to pass as surface elves with little trouble. Some would think that this would make them outcasts but in fact Szarkai were viewed as a blessing of Lolth, hence their namesake.

There are some interesting crossover traits between Kar'niss and Szarkai that lean me more toward this theory, such as: -Szarkai look almost identical to drow outside of the skin tone. However, they have also been known to have minor deformities. The most notable is "gnarled and claw-like hands" which we know Kar'niss to possess. Originally I thought this was due to the transformation, but now I think he may have had it prior to the change.

-They are very adverse toward combat, preferring to let others do the dirty work so to speak. When the player engages Kar'niss in a fight one of the first things he does after his multi-attack is cast sanctuary on himself, protecting himself from harm and forcing his companions to take the hits. I also saw a video where someone cast banish on Kar'niss and when he returned he disengaged, healed himself, and ran from the fight. Now this was likely a bug, but it'd be on brand for Szarkai's desire to escape a fight rather than engage in it.

-They were mostly used as spies and gathering information since they could easily blend into surface societies. While there isn't much evidence that Kar'niss has much training in this field, what stuck out to me was the professions Szarkai favored. One of them is bard, and we have at least some notion that Kar'niss is linked to one musical instrument by way of the spider's lyre. I recall someone commenting asking if the lyre may have belonged to Kar'niss at one point and while I can't say with certainty, if it was and Minthara was merely holding on to it then it'd lend credence to him being a bard formerly. That and he's super pissed if you play it poorly!

-I haven't done a playthrough with Minthara in my party so I am not familiar with all of her dialogue lines. However, she does know Kar'niss in some capacity and the lyre is used to call him. Her last name is Baenre which is one of the most notable drow houses in all of Menzoberranzan, famous for Jarlaxle the leader of Bregan D'aerthe. I say this because Szarkai seemed to be far more common in noble houses, which Baenre would be. This could, even if loosely, establish a link between them.

IF this is true, that puts a very intense spin on Kar'niss' potential history. Szarkai were protected, considered valuable, and their existence kept secret. They were removed from drow life, and even kept in far safer conditions than others. This didn't mean they were shielded from the cruelty drow are known for but it was a different kind of cruelty. Often trained from a very young age to be spies and saboteurs, and subsequently being shipped to human cities to do as ordered. It makes me wonder what Kar'niss could've done to incur Lolth's wrath to the extent she warped him into a drider. Betrayal? Failure? Weakness? Or perhaps Lolth just really wanted an alabaster pet, it's hard to say.

Thanks for the ask!

[son-of-a-bhaal]

"My precious little Bhaal babe"

[talesofthedice]

The rogue attempted to trick the green dragon, Venomfang. As a result, Shahaka was immediately killed and sent to, presumably, the Demon Web Pits, where she passed her own Test of Lolth. In order to be resurrected, Lolth demanded something be left behind with her as collateral. Shahaka gave her her heart

[nekrodxvil]

First meeting.

I'm tempted to write about these two, I've already written some scripts, but until the project goes ahead, I'll draw them. 😎

[akizatsukinami]

Can't get Drow Kar'niss out of my mind so I made a few AI Arts and this one came up. I still edited it to make it more like him and I must say he looks stunning!! ~Made with Leonardoai~

[azrithart]

Kalidas and Selakiir, my best pal @c-cloudyy 's sorcerer, crafting some weapons together! __ Please don't reupload my art. / Don't use my art to train AI. Thanks! 🖤

[whitegoldtower]

(This one's better oof)

The very definition of 'looks like he could kill you but is a cinnamon roll'. Well. I mean... He means well but sometimes says things which are a little harsh. Also don't touch Scratch. Or Kar'niss. Or anybody he's well acquainted with. The Szarkai is always watching.

But gods forbid you lay a finger on Tam'lin. Then you'll have dear cousin Minthara to worry about. Only she's allowed to bully him.

[sweetmage]

( . ) ( . )

[blighted-elf]

An Eilistraee inspired lyre design for Ry'on 💕

Reblogs appreciated!

[karniss-bg3]

It always struck me as very interesting Kar'niss appears to have originally been an albino drow (since normally colored drow driders still have the dark skin). Albino drow are very rare, very valued (since they can pass as surface elf albinos and thus are skilled spies), and considered blessed by Lolth. It makes me wonder what he's seen, what he's done, and what thing he did to cause Lolth to turn him into a drider. It adds another layer of mystery and interest to my favorite creepy yet endearing spider-man.

Yes it's very interesting! I covered the topic of Szarkai a bit ago in this post along with some thoughts.

Thing is though there are some discrepancies. I don't know if Kar'niss is pale because he was intended to be or if it's a graphical error. The official drider concept art shows the drider with dark skin, although it is not labeled to be Kar'niss' model directly it still looks like him. In that picture they have extra arms and no pedipalps so the design could've changed. I feel like they had plans for Kar'niss but had to scrap them due to time constraints. It gives me some hope that additional content will be added for him in the future.

Like you I am extremely curious on how Kar'niss became a drider. The trials of Lolth were a more common cause but there were many ways to earn a few extra, unwanted legs when it came to Underdark politics. I hope we get some solid answers someday.

Thanks for the ask!

[angsoej]

[talesofthedice]

Shield of Faith

[cosmicbutterflies]

                     OC Aesthetics/OC Moodboards: 015/???                                          ↪  Zahari Daev’yana                                   for my twin @spiderlilyart