janearts - Tumblr blog

[janearts]

Reposting notice.

FYI for any artist out there who has drawn fan art for any of SJM's work, @/subliminallysatisfactorysuzy has been reposting fan art without credit and permission. @vivictory-draws was kind enough to tag and notify me that my artwork had been reposted. (Screenshot of reposted art under the cut.) I messaged Suzy privately requesting that my art be reblogged instead of reposted without credit, but received no response and consequently filed a DMCA notice.

I am trying to message any artist whose work has been reposted to notify them that their art has been reposted, but I need help for some of the works that do not have obvious/legible signatures. Here is a link to their Tumblr. Please do NOT harass this user, simply notify the artist if you can identify their work and inform them that they should file a DMCA Copyright Notification *if* they want their reposted artwork removed. (They may not care a jot! Who knows!)

Posts without attribution violate Tumblr's Community Guidelines under the following section:

Misattribution or Non-Attribution. Make sure you always give proper attribution and include full links back to original sources. When you find something awesome on Tumblr, reblog it instead of reposting it. It's less work and more fun, anyway. When reblogging something, DO NOT inject a link back to your blog just to steal attention from the original post. If you want to report the unauthorized posting of content you created or have a copyright for, please do so using this form. [Emphasis mine.]

DMCA forms can ONLY be filled out by the artist or a person authorised to act on behalf of the artist (e.g., a personal assistant, a lawyer, etc.). If you see reposted art that is reposted without proper attribution and a link back to the original source, please notify the artist if you are aware of their identity. Unfortunately, no action can be taken unless the creator (the legal holder of that copyright) or an authorised representative files a violation notice.

The original artwork can be found here on my own blog. Here is a screenshot of the reposted artwork:

[janearts]

i know malus already received a brief mention here but since he was one of my favorite parts of act 2, could we get a little more detail on that encounter or just how roisia felt about the house of healing overall? my headcanon is 1 part kind of shaken about seeing what it devolved into, 1 part "oh my god you're all so STUPID" haha

[Malus previously mentioned in this post.]

I liked his character too! It was a great encounter. Analysis under the cut.

Since the events of Baldur's Gate 3 is the second of Roisia's "Grand Adventures"—the first being the events of Divinity: Original Sin (another amazing Larian game if you haven't played)—she is already accustomed to Necromancer-Kings, liches, and piles and piles and piles of corpses and... cadaverous goo. So I don't think that she was aghast at Malus, his assistants, or what was generally going on in the House of Healing because she's seen that sort of thing before. Been there! Done that!

I think what would unnerve her every time is the active torture of a living creature right before her eyes. So that would apply to Spike torturing Liam and Malus torturing the Distressed Patient. Roisia is accustomed to flaying, boiling, amputating, and doing all manner of things to her patients, but her patients don't mind because they're dead. So I think that's where the mix of agony (an empathetic response to seeing another in pain before her), rage (an emotional response to seeing another being unjustly treated), and a sort of... scholarly competitiveness - ("I am ten times the anatomist you ever were, and I will show you how superior I am with what remains of your body!") - comes in.

I don't think that Roisia felt that Malus was stupid, necessarily, just twisted. And, fortunately for Roisia, easily manipulated in a way that some academics of his stature might be: stroke their egos with the precision of one of their own scalpels, demonstrate some level of competency while humbling oneself at the altar of their knowledge, turn their own words and implements against them, then desecrate that selfsame altar with their own blood. Rinse and repeat.

[janearts]

TL;DR: Roisia still doesn't think of any gods outside of Kelemvor. If she holds any other gods in contempt, it's a fleeting feeling because her thoughts of other gods are just as impermanent. More detailed analysis under the read-more.

***

Roisia's role as her mother's successor (and therefore a future Cleric of Kelemvor) meant that she was devoted to Kelemvor from a young age. So although Roisia wasn't ignorant of the other gods in the Faerûnian pantheon, she didn't spare them a second thought. Why would she? Kelemvor was front and centre to everything she was, everything she wanted to be.

I'm not sure if I've ever talked about the way that Roisia has some degree of emotional and cognitive dissonance when it comes to her faith and her career as a Necromancer. When Roisia raised her father from the dead and then doubled down on her pursuit of Necromancy, she effectively broke from Kelemvor, destroyed her Clerical future, and became godless. But she's still someone who prays to Kelemvor like he'll have an ear out for her. There's still something that remains comforting about the habit of worshipping Kelemvor, even though, when she thinks about it, she knows that her god would despise her for what she does and continues to do with abandon (raise the dead and bend the rules around death).

Roisia is effectively godless—a dangerous thing to be in this dangerous world when she knows that Kelemvor, the god whose tenets she broke, judges souls. But Roisia has had a hard time committing to another god in the pantheon. It somehow, still feels wrong to her. Much like picking a life partner, , Roisia just can't seem to select one and commit.

If she were, like she did for her "#4"s, write down her options, it would look something like this:

Bane: Talked to her. Said she was already of his ilk. A possibility.

Deneir: Scholarly and arcane. But what if she didn't want to just record knowledge, but practise it?

Jergal: If desperate. [FYI: Not 100% sure Roisia would've puzzled Withers out. Roisia would likely believe them to be a high-ranking priest of Jergal.]

Leira: Possibly, provided one has a sense of humour. (After all, in a sense, much of Roisia's life is a lie!)

Myrkul: Probably the most sensible choice of the lot. Still wants to cremate his bones for funsies for snubbing her.

Mystra: Also a practical choice, although considering Gale's history with the goddess, not Roisia's first choice.

Tymora: Again, if one has a sense of humour. (Because Roisia is, in a sense, gambling with her very soul.)

Waukeen: Once more, if one has a sense of humour, because Roisia still wants to have a thriving funerary business while also raising the dead in her own backyard graveyard.

[janearts]

i HAVE to know who bodran ends up romancing in bg3. for science... that and i’m DELIGHTED by all the new roisia content 😭 i followed ages ago for her and bree and it’s making me feel so nostalgic 🥲

ASDFLKAFDJADALFDJK I have not yet played all the way through my Bodran's Big Bad Bangin' Babes run so your guess is as good as mine!!! He would love to love them all. All at once, in groups, or one at a time.

My guess is that by Act III, Shadowheart and Lae'zel might still tolerate his presence. I think he is too self-interested, too hedonistic, and too unfeeling to be of great interest to Karlach while at the same time being too histrionic, too lazy, and too frivolous to be of significant interest to Minthara.

[janearts]

Did Roisia run into Nina Dortmell in the Graveyard in the Lower City of BG3 during Act III? Did she encourage the child to use necromancy on her brother, or discourage her given Kelemvor's influence within the Graveyard? (Apologies if this is the graveyard that Roisia's family tends and I forgot--I wasn't sure, but I just got there and it made me think of Roisia and wonder what her reaction was.)

Yes and yes! (And don't apologise! The in-game cemetery isn't Roisia's. Roisia's looks something like this.) Details below the read-more.

Let me start off by saying it would feel SO bizarre to "claim" any in-game space exclusively for my character. The very thought just gives me the ick. More importantly, BG3's Lower City mushes all the districts together. So Candulhallow's Funeral Arrangements (in Heapside) is placed right across the damn street from the Elfsong Tavern (in Eastway). My guess is that they did this to include popular locations (Elfsong + the Maid vs. Jopalin's & the Smiling Boar) into the game without having to build spend the time, money, and labour on building each individual district. I actually chose the Eastway District for Roisia's cemetery because I didn't want to put her in direct competition with Candulhallow's Funeral Arrangements in Heapside. Hah! Anyway, my point is that Baldur's Gate has multiple established cemeteries so Roisia's is off screen somewhere.

But to answer your main question, Roisia absolutely encouraged Nina without a second thought and helped the girl raise her brother. Turns out, Roisia hadn't learned a damned thing from her debacle with Mayrina! I can't tell you what she was thinking, save that sometimes Roisia forgets that not everyone is as comfortable as she is around the dead and decaying and that sometimes amor does NOT vincit omnia for others. She was grateful to have her father back in whatever fashion; she couldn't envision anyone quibbling over whether their loved one has their skin or not. That's merely a technical detail. Although... that being said, the fact that the girl was praying to Myrkul should have tipped Roisia off that perhaps the girl hadn't considered that the Lord of Bones would deliver her brother back to her in the form that pleases Myrkul most. Oops!

[janearts]

There was something about the changes made to the conversation that happens after the final battle that just made me laugh. Roisia 1) sleeps like the dead and 2) is the sort of sleeper who would cocoon herself in her own duvet, so not only would Astarion have to purposefully wake Roisia to have the conversation he wants to have, but, on top of that, all he would have to gaze adoringly upon would be a lump of duvet and a slip of bonnet. And Roisia is not the sort of person to gaze lovingly back at anyone when she awakes, no matter how beloved that person might be.

[janearts]

my friend found this book at a book store and i immediately thought of your pair.

like????

you see the vision??

I am SO flattered you thought of Roisia ASDFLKJADFKJADKFJKLJ BUT YES, I SEE THE VISION. So here is my homage to the above book:

Also that looks like such a fun read so thank you as well for the book rec!

[janearts]

I'm still in a bit of an art funk, but I've also been mulling over what Roisia's non-adventurey life might have looked like in a Faerûn-But-Make-It-Modern-Magic setting. Wanted to get the clothing bit sorted out first.

[janearts]

Thank you so much for drawing Roisia!!! She looks great! ;w;

A few wonderful Tavs from some of my favourite BG3 creators!

From left to right,

Gan belongs to @razrogue

Dagmar belongs to @aimoplaysbg3

Gilly belongs to @themaybug

Roisia belongs to @janearts

Marin belongs to @eeldritchblast

Check out these creators’ work while you’re at it!

If on mobile, please double click and turn for better resolution

[janearts]

Once again fantasising what Oskar Fevras' art might look like. A prequel of sorts, perhaps, to this.

[janearts]

Thank you for commissioning me! Never thought I'd ever miss drawing kissing but I did and this was a great refresher 😂

Siavash swept him into fierce hug. “You never needed rescuing. You know that.” Laughing down his sobs, he turned the old Andoren aphorism on its head: “You traded your copper coins for gold.”

❤️Woljif & Siavash Valentine's day smooch commission by the wonderful @janearts - thank you so much 💕

[janearts]

Are Roisia’s ghouls the ones from Necromancy of Thay? If so how does that work? Does Astarion have his own set or did she not share it with him?

Answered your questions in detail below the cut!

TL;DR: Some! Does exactly what it says on the tin. No and yes.

Are Roisia’s ghouls the ones from Necromancy of Thay?

They could be, but they aren't necessarily! Roisia is a Necromancer so the ghouls from the Necromancy of Thay stack with the number of summons Necromancers accrue as they rise in power. IIRC, Roisia had a pack of 10 ghouls following her by the end of her adventure. Unless I draw winged ghouls, the ghouls from NoT are indistinguishable from her regular ghoul summons.

If so how does that work?

I wasn't sure what you meant by this question, so I'm gently adding a spoiler tag for anyone who hasn't undertaken or finished the Necromancy of Thay questline. I saw no reason why Roisia's canon should be different from in-game: she unlocks the spellbook, she persists despite the onslaught of the spirits that protect the book, and she continues to hone her mastery of Necromancy with The Tharchiate Codex. (I drew what a protective spirit might look like to Roisia in this post if you're curious!)

Does Astarion have his own set or did she not share it with him?

I was confused by this question, and it (in combination with the previous question) made me wonder whether or not you've played through the quest or the game itself. No judgement at all if you haven't! If you haven't played one or the other, then I should let you know that, to my knowledge, the Necromancy of Thay can only be read by one character of the player's choosing. I, obviously, chose to give a Necromantic tome to my Necromancer. So Astarion does not have his own set in my game (or canon) because Roisia needed the book for her own purposes.

But, that being said, even if Roisia could share the spellbook, she wouldn't. I know I frequently portray Roisia as someone who is kind-hearted, generous, and compassionate—(and she is all of those things!)—but I don't wish those qualities to overshadow the fact that she is also—(simultaneously!)—ambitious, ruthless, and power-hungry. Everything in Ilyn Toth's lab was hers for the taking as far as she was concerned.

[janearts]

Cazador was a disappointing Act III villain for me. He looked a little too much like a poor man's Strahd for my tastes, and I wanted to play around with a design that ran in the opposite direction. Although, that being said, in this reimagining he does take a page out of Strahd's book: I wanted him to be more suave, composed, and self-assured enough to be willing to chat, like a cat that wants to play with its scampering food.

[janearts]

In one of your drawings of Tiefling!Bodran, is he greying at the temples? I'm verklempt

Hah! Yes!! He's both an old character and an old man mer in his original universe in The Elder Scrolls series. He's 303 years of age by Skyrim/4E 201 if I'm recalling my own lore correctly. According to ESO, he should by all accounts be dead. (I could have sworn back in the ye olde Morrowind days that elves could clear 300 without breaking a sweat.) ANYWAY, while I've been pointedly ignoring ZeniMax and pretending everything is fine for him in the Elder Scrolls universe, I thought I'd show some gentle signs of ageing for BG3.

[janearts]

I’m curious, does Roisia like kids? If she does, did she take a liking to any specific ones on her journey? Did she take in Yenna at camp?

Roisia LOVES children. Children are the last thing on her List to be... acquired??? When crafting her List, she thought she wanted 3-5, but by the end of Act I, she wants about 10-15 additional, largely tiefling children.

She was endeared in particular to Doni, Mirkon, Silfy, and Mattis in Act I and with Ide and Umi in Act II. She took in Yenna without question.

[janearts]

Hey, so you got to act 3 in the Astarion romance, right? How did Roisa feel about the romance scene in the graveyard?

I did! I finished the game back in September and played out the epilogue patch more recently. Roisia was happy to bear witness to Astarion mourning his past and celebrating a future of his choosing. However, she did take umbrage at Astarion's phrasing that he would be open to having sex that evening. Knowing his history and his relationship with sex, Roisia was really looking for more clear intent, more barefaced desire. I think his wording, "I could be persuaded", would've really bothered her even though she knew he meant it cheekily (e.g., a stupid easy persuasion check, if you will).

I've included a more thorough analysis of her feelings under the cut.

Ultimately, that night poked and prodded at deeper fears and insecurities. Roisia has been left before at the end of a grand adventure wondering how she could have missed the signs that the person she adored did not quite adore her back with the same ardour. Now, older and believing herself to be wiser, she is wary and this time, she tells herself, she will keep herself in check. She will be rational, level-headed, and even-keeled. She will not let herself get swept away by irrational desire, and her love of Astarion is a very irrational, incompatible, unwise desire.

When Astarion said that he wanted her, that she stood by him through bloodlust and pain and misery, that she had been patient, caring, and trusting, that he felt safe and seen with her, and that he didn't want to lose all of that, Roisia felt a sinking unease. A queasy sort of disquiet in her gut. Because she realised that everything he described, everything about her that he praised or acknowledged or thanked, was nothing particularly special in her eyes. As a [former] Cleric of Kelemvor, as an undertaker, as a professional mourner, she has done all of the above and more with the loved ones of decedents as part of her job. It's her sacred duty to stand by people at a low and loathsome point in their lives, through their pain and misery, with patience, compassion, and an extended hand. Hell, that's just another Tuesday!

Roisia couldn't help but feel that Astarion really only loved the things that she could do for him rather than her as a person outside of those acts of service. And those things he described could have easily been done by any Mortarch worth their salt in her place. So does he truly care for her? Or is he really just thankful for the things she's done for him? Those things that really anyone could do? It does not plant a seed, exactly, but it germinates a seed that was already present in her mind, a nasty little thought that she is not special and, therefore, not truly loved in the way that she so very much wants to be loved. That, sure, Astarion cares about her, but only because she just happened to be there and has assisted people in different stages of grief since she was a child. She is fundamentally, inescapably replaceable and it's only a matter of time until Astarion realises that and does what Eustace did: clap her on the back, thank her for her time, and move on to greener pastures whatever or wherever they may be.

It was hard for Roisia to hear Astarion say things like "I want you" and "I love you" when there is a part of herself that deeply, deeply doubts that. That thinks he is wrong even if he is not yet aware that he is wrong. She is torn between taking his words at face value, the words that her heart wants to hear, or reading between the lines, which is what the parts of herself that she calls Logic and Reason call out for her to do. I think in the moment she yields to the former, but after that night, leans towards the latter.

[janearts]

what does Roisia think about Raphael?

I am trying so, SO hard not to let my own opinions of Raphael (love him 10 outta 10 quite possibly my favourite NPC) colour how my character would feel about him. I suppose the very least I could say was that Roisia genuinely enjoyed the poetry? The rest—the overt scheming and manipulation to amass power and souls, the enslavement and torture of the soulless, so on and so forth—she could do without. And, if I'm stretching it, perhaps she did grow rather fond of his smarmy face.