#woe curse my inconsistent art style

[the-loved-anomaly]

so me and my friend have been talking abt putting our f/o's in makeup, specifically eyeshadow and even though i haven't drawn in 85 years i couldn't help myself

[fae-ray-anthem]

“The first plan is the escape plan.”

So this is a drawing by @imjustanectoplasm of my murderously righteous Dungeons and Dragons character, Tohuys, to whom a short description would be a cross between 2004’s Van Helsing and very bad case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hide. Elaboration below:

Tohuys is a Derro cross-breed and while the history of the Derro is scant to begin with what needs to be known is that the diminutive Halfling-like race has long been drowning in insanity and evil. Like dwarves and gnomes they live predominantly underground but unlike both are unable to stand the sunlight without harm. To this end they have a maddening jealousy for surface races and constantly endeavor in horrendous experiments to discover how to become immune to the “Overburn”.

That’s where Tohuys comes in: a remarkably successful experiment (by Derro standards) to gain access to the surface world. The identity of both parents remains a relative mystery but the safe bet is on some form of elf mother and a Derro father, though due to his features, mocking suggestions of a giant bat or demon aren’t uncommon. The one rumor that is most pressing to Tohuys, and would be the one that is the most insane, is that his father is actually Diinkarazan, the betrayed Derro deity of vengeance.

This is absurd for several reasons even comprehendible to Tohuys, such as his lack of Demigod power and contradiction in a god who has tried to destroy the Derro suddenly lending them aid. Though he does understand why his clan would summon an entity explicitly out to annihilate them, and that’s because Tohuys recognizes that his race is insane.

Tohuys belongs to the Demon Eater Clan: aptly named for their deranged habit of worshipping, summoning, and eating demons. The train of thought being that just as the poisonous cytillesh fungus gives their savants their sorceries power (and causes most Derro to be stillborn and all Derro to be insane) eating demons will result in incredible abilities. And when it doesn’t result in a horrible death, this can sometimes be appallingly true.

Whatever his true origin, Tohuys was raised largely by his clan’s leading magister: and while his childhood would prove traumatic as any Derro’s, he would have the “grace” to live through it. Befitting their schizophrenic nature: Tohuys would be worshipped as the race’s salvation one day and be treated as nothing but a misshapen mongrel –slave the next. One who would at one point be protected from even the envious glances of other children but be tied naked to rock and subjected to days of exposure to the Overburn. But whether the threat was a sudden zealous flock who sought to devour the god-child in a show of fealty or a horde out to destroy the cursed one who would end all Derro, his adopted father always erred on keeping him alive.

While not free from the ancestral madness, Tohuys’ other half allowed him to recognize the irrationality and inconsistency around him. To that end he saw the necessity of leading his race out of their dilapidation: accepting his destiny as the one who would conquer the surface world and form a new, stronger, race of Derro. Indeed arranged marriages to five of the D.E.C’s most powerful and upcoming females suited him quite fine. Well…until he overheard their plans to cut off his limbs so everyone could have a fair share. Certainly unacceptable…they might cut off something important!

And so he would flee to the one place he was sure they could not follow…the entirety of the surface world! So with a few freed slaves in tow he journeyed to the Overburn and for awhile lived life as a feral forest dweller before his festering contempt delivered onto him a new purpose. Tohuys forsook the psychotic ways of his people (or at least he thinks he has) and instead has vowed to raise them from the depths of their sickness by both the light of the surface and the “soft ways”. To that end he now ceaselessly explores the world on his quest (which other people view aimless wandering, but he doesn’t see how his method is any different from other adventurers).

His first prerogative is to do right by the “good gods”. He seeks divine favor as the most preferable cure for his own lunacy and that of the Derro, despite that he did not swear himself to the first temple to cross his path or since. Instead seeking a god whom will show him mercy foremost, for it would be a most merciful deity indeed to look upon the burden of the Derro and take such under their wing. Yet he seeks to please the nebulous collection of all good deities he hears about in order to show his race as worthy. Tohuys possess great suspicion of other methods such as alchemy and the arcane arts: he has  had more than enough experience with treacherous mad scientists whom claim they are one step away from achieving greatness.

Tohuys is awash in contradictory thoughts. Though he seeks heavenly approval, he completes his tasks with disregard for honor, mercy, and plain good taste. Tohuys is thief who hates thieves. He will steal something without a moment’s hesitation or a heart beat skipped. Yet he values few possessions, only stealing what he considers useful at that moment and prone to discard anything not immediately handy. He is largely un-materialistic, valuing neither trinkets nor even money: setting off on tasks without asking for a reward and often giving treasure away immediately as he simply finds it cumbersome. To such ends he does not understand the common crook. He sees all but the poorest thieves as preposterously greedy and their thrill in a clean get away as being full of malice, and therefore evil. Indeed he finds the obsession with loot in companions highly annoying. Woe unto the cutpurse caught by Tohuys as death might be preferable.

Still quite “Batty”, his perception of the world will change on a day to day basis, if not sooner. Without companions to keep him focused, Tohuys will often wake up with complete disregard for whatever his goal was yesterday and create a new quest. His rejection or affirmation of divine lineage is mercurial and often changes to suite his suite his psychological needs. Completely dismissing the notion one moment but becoming the “Avatar of Vengeance” whenever the enemy is in retreat or situation calls for courage.

Rampant paranoia is a trademark. Tohuys has sworn vengeance not only on his suspected father but also vows to free his race from all dark powers, whether that be the worship of revolting great demons or the deranged creator god Dirrinka and the rest of the “Derantheon”: the Derro pantheon whose existence as anything more than the mad ideas inherent in the species is questionable. In any case, due to this Tohuys believes dark forces are constantly being sent to kill him or worse: that his clan and spurned wives stalk through the night to drag him far underground to an unimaginably terrible punishment.

This paranoia manifests as suspicion towards almost everyone, even people who have yet to look upon him. The man rarely gets more than hour sleep before jolting up to look around and can often rub people as overly cautious in mundane situations. His enhance hearing only multiplying the number of sound to be perceived as suspicious. Yet this mania has proven a life saver for himself and his partners on more than one occasion. Overly cautious, he has proven the master at detecting and avoiding traps. Despite being the most mentally un-sound: it is he whom always insists on thorough planning (particularly escape planning) and even doing relatively simple procedures like locating an exit or procuring a life boat.

It is obvious to everyone that Tohuy’s weapon of choice is the Chakram: bladed disks that he launches from his crossbow, tosses with a flick of the wrist, and if need be engages with in hand-to-hand combat. As he would put it, he loves the weapon because it “hurts everywhere” and because it of its multi-use and particular re-use quality. Their width giving Tohuys a bit more leniency is hitting a target and even the vain potential for a ricochet. He will often have them magically or alchemy enhanced, applying poisons or spells that make them turn thick armor into a hot oven or freeze the opponent on contact. You would likely have to catch him naked to see him without one…and even then that is a tough bet.

He has a trash scavenged style to him. Most clothing clearly very worn and torn, often possessing patches and a re-stitched quality, bearing the marks of both the wild and battle. He knows his physical features work against him in the societies he now seeks to aid, so he often tries to hide them with a scarf, hat, and cloak: rarely a combination that dissuades suspicion but will at least buy him time to explain.  Still he is often consigned to skulking around in the night: becoming an expert at salvaging from rubbish heaps (as well as looking for clues) and nonchalantly eating rodents whole.

Tohuys considers himself good, but is more than likely Chaotic Neutral or Unaligned due to his unstable mind and relative ignorance to what “goodness” actually is. Though if his madness were to ever be cured his alignment would likely change to Chaotic Good. As for the moment though, Tohuys wouldn’t think twice about pluck fingernails to get the information he needs or eating the corpse of his foe simply because it was there.