merrypaladin

[merrypaladin]

[merrypaladin]

I used to use the name Merry and Bright before @darkurgetrash pointed out it sounded like a Christmas blog. My main hobby and passion is DnD so I thought I'd use something from that and chose between my two favourite classes (bard and paladin) and then to not confuse my muddly brain I kept the merry part, creating MerryPaladin 😅❤️

Tumblr Username Origin Story ✍️

Thanks for the tag @dutifullylazybread!

Basically, bg3 called me back to fandom culture and so I decided to return to my old tumblr blog, which has gone through *many* a name change in its time.

At the time—this being before I even realised Rolan was a character—my biggest ship was durgetash, and I thought darkurgetra(s)h was a funny pun. 🤭

Although, now that I’m more known for Rolan stuff, I can’t say it suits that well. 😂 It’s also annoyingly unshortenable, which means people have to call me by my full username, my irl name, or… trash? (Though tbf that would work as I am trash)

But alas, I’ve used it too much everywhere now to bother changing it!

Tags for: @merrypaladin @graysparrowao3 @commander-krios @freesidexjunkie @ghostcouncil ☺️❤️

[merrypaladin]

So pretty ❤️

[merrypaladin]

I'm terrible at being evil but the characters are slay

Forcing @merrypaladin to be evil and slay with me for the first time. The portal picture may have been taken before... unfortunate durge events...

[merrypaladin]

This was super fun to do ❤️

Blog & Blogger (picrew link). Tagged by @greypetrel , thank you dear!

Tagging: @shanaraharlyah @sweetjulieapples @the-arcane-archivist @tessa1972 @elisyn @knuttydraws @kittynomsdeplume and anyone who wants to play. No pressure, only fun.

[merrypaladin]

I've been working on some core text for my DnD campaign for future events they are not yet aware of and the last line of that was:

'This is the end of (redacted name as I was tagged in this by a player)' haha

Last Line Tag ✍️

I’ve been tagged to post the last line I wrote in my WIP, and tag as many people as words in the sentence. Thank you, @redroomroaving!

From the next chapter of hitmc (which is probably gonna go out later today…)

The tension was so thick, it didn’t need a knife—it needed a crowbar.

14 tags 👊 for you, m’ladies(gn)

@lemonsrosesandlavender @kimberbohwrites @sorceresssundries @commander-krios @graysparrowao3

@honeybee-bard @krawwan @lisa-and-shadow @sunflowerrolanadorer @merrypaladin

@orangekittyenergy @elspethdekarios @weaveandwood @cheerysmores

[merrypaladin]

Some haunted hyacinths ✨🪻

[merrypaladin]

[merrypaladin]

found this INCREDIBLY powerful pic of miss piggy from her 1983 calendar

[merrypaladin]

Sonne by Rammstein! Somehow stuck in my head though I never listen to any other rammstein!

ATTENTION

If you see this you are OBLIGATED to reblog w/ the song currently stuck in your head :)

[merrypaladin]

My players are currently in Dathmir (ironically I've never seen Star Wars so didn't know there was a similar name), and it's quickly proving to be quite the hellscape for them.

This location is clouded by a toxic air due to volcanic activity and those not from the land have to wear masks to allow them to breathe. The only place you can breathe freely without a mask is the capital city of Dacri, protected by a large magical dome. Dathmir is huge on innovation through the use of magic, and the larger cities even have magical trams running through them.

But despite its progressive inventions, Dathmir is a nation controlled by a corrupt Priesthood who revere an ancient dragon named Okun. In Dathmir your wealth is your worth and inequality run deeps, the noble families using whatever they can to their advantage. It is even said that the large amount of tieflings born in this land is due to Dathmir being the location of the door to hell itself, called Gaboor.

The party have just come across an archive describing a God of fire named Suri who existed in Dathmir prior to Okun, marked clean from the nation's history. Okun did something to Suri that incurred the wrath of the God's wife, the nature Goddess Loredane, who sent her druids to trap the fearsome dragon in an unknown location.

The party have to navigate their personal issues as well as the mystery of Okun and the true depth of Dathmir's history, and I can't wait for them to discover more.

[merrypaladin]

Our three girl players in the campaign all have the best unique designs and personalities that work so well together ❤️ Tara is cunning, Amanita is tenacious and Sabyn is truly kind (but she'll still hit you with a sword).

The girls of Eldebroake 💁‍♀️ @merrypaladin

[merrypaladin]

Ten songs on repeat ✨️✨️

I got tagged by @darkurgetrash to do this and I've been listening to these a lot while I've been writing the current arc of the campaign ❤️

1- Ordinary (Alex Warren)

2- In My Room (Julia Wolf)

3- Me and the Devil (Soap&Skin)

4- Fable (Gigi Perez)

5- The Prophecy (Taylor Swift)

6- Strangers (Ethel Cain)

7- Which Witch (Florence and the Machine)

8- Call Your Mom (Noah Kahan)

9- Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush)

10- Dynasty (MIIA)

[merrypaladin]

Me and @merrypaladin made the most beautiful goddess ever to be the wife of my crack dnd character Billy Joe Bob Ghost Hunter McGee.

Of course, I wrote their very first-meeting to be incredibly sweet. ☺️❤️ Beneath the cut.

Billy Joe Bob gulps, pressing his sopping wet hat to his chest as he stares up at what might just be the most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on. A woman with skin like the ocean, eyes like amber, and hair shifting through more colours than the Luma Waterway themselves. She holds him in the palm of her hand, her face calm but tired as she looks him over.

Weirdly enough, he don’t feel afraid. Not even a little. Not that he ever gets scared—he’s Billy Joe Bob, after all—but this? This is anti-fear. If anything, he’s never felt less scared in his life!

“Curious…” The woman’s voice rolls over him like a gentle tide. “It’s not often I find a living mortal in my waters. What is your name?”

He grins, wide and easy. “Name’s Billy Joe Bob Treasure Hunter McGee, ma’am,” he says, placing his hat back on top of his head just so he can tip it. “BJB for short.”

She exhales, long-suffering. “Of course. A treasure hunter.” Her eyes sweep over him like she’s already decided exactly what kind of fool he is. “Should have known. Only your kind are reckless enough to venture here.”

“Reckless is my middle name!” He plants his feet, wobbling a bit but steadying himself by grabbing her thumb. She lifts a brow at the familiarity, but he just grins wider. “Billy Joe Bob Treasure Hunter Reckless McGee.”

No need to mention he ain’t entirely sure what ‘reckless’ even means.

“I’m afraid you’ll find no treasure here,” she says, her tone flat. But there’s a glint in her eye—something like amusement. “These waters belong to the spirits. They pass on to the next life, leaving everything behind. There is nothing here for a mortal like you.”

Billy Joe Bob scratches his head. He could’ve sworn that sailor in the tavern told him there was treasure hidden here. And why would the man lie? BJB had paid him handsomely for the tip! And double for his boat!

“Aw, shucks.” He shrugs, all sheepish. “And after all that trouble just to get here, too! Had to down ‘bout a dozen water-breathing potions.”

The woman says nothing.

The silence is… unfamiliar. Unsettling, even. Billy Joe Bob ain’t used to folks not responding to him. And worse—his face feels kinda warm. Like he’s… blushing?

Nah! Must be the pressure of the deep water. Ain’t no person in the whole world that could make BJB turn red.

“Ain’t no matter, though,” he says, filling the quiet and shuffling his feet. “Reckon it’s time I change my name anyway. Gets boring once ya already found the greatest treasure there ever was.”

That gets her attention. She tilts her head slightly. “Oh? You did?”

“Yessiree!” He winks. “And I’m lookin’ right at her!”

For a moment, she just stares, like she’s waiting for him to crack a joke. Then—something shifts.

And she laughs.

A roaring, belly-deep laugh that shakes the sea itself. The waves tremble beneath her joy, and before Billy Joe Bob can so much as blink, he’s flying backwards, flipping through the water like a barn door in a hurricane.

The world spins; bubbles exploding around him as he tumbles out of control. He fumbles for his axe—he ain’t sure how, but he’s certain he could find a use for it—but his hands catch only more and more water—

Then, something snags his shirt.

The chaos halts.

Blinking through the dizziness, he finds himself dangling between the woman’s thumb and forefinger, her vast, shimmering eyes filled with something suspiciously like concern.

“Oh—I’m so sorry!” she says quickly, before setting him gently back onto her palm. “I haven’t laughed like that in… well, in a long time!”

Billy Joe Bob squints up at her, still a little dazed. “…Since when d’you have six eyes?” His vision swims. “Not that I’m complainin’—suits ya.”

She laughs again, but softer this time—gentler, like the tide rolling back instead of crashing in.

“You are a strange human, Billy Joe Bob Treasure Hunter Reckless McGee.”

BJB steadies himself, allowing the blush to fully take his cheeks as he slaps his hat back on, and flashes her his best wink. “So I been told, ma’am.”

The woman smiles. A large, beautiful one that achieves the rarest thing of all:

It renders him speechless.

“Please,” she says. “Call me Luma.”

[merrypaladin]

(NPC art by the wonderful @darkurgetrash )

The second heirs. The forgotten. The free.

Highlighting two NPCs who play a large part in the plot of the campaign my players are currently in.

Caneron Locksmith (right):

Blessed. Self sacrificing. Loved.

Born under a blessed full moon and the cousin of Pendle Locksmith; they may share a face but Caneron wears it so much better. Despite being older, he is second in line to the Duchy in the family tree but is more than happy for his little cousin to take the title. Caneron's own parents died when he was quite young of an elven plague and he was taken in by the current Duke Locksmith, who held nothing but contempt for his younger brother's child. This hatred grew even bigger when Pendle was born under a cursed eclipse, the heir sentenced to a tragic early death. Despite the Duke's mistreatment, Caneron felt nothing but love for his cousin and has spent his life researching religious archives and infiltrating all manner of dangerous groups to find a way to break Pendle's curse. He loves deeply, too deeply for his own good and puts his own wellbeing on the back-burner if it means protecting those he loves. Not that he'd ever tell you, to the unknowing player he's a flirtatious gossip who lives at the mercy of his ever changing whims.

Balcan Fallwish (left):

Royal. The Raven Prince. Kind.

The second Prince of the elven Kingdom of Carlisla, Balcan is used to being overlooked. He's the black sheep of the family (quite literally as his ink black hair is quite striking in a family of platinum blondes). Despite the gossip that incurs from such a stark difference in appearence, he is the legitimate son of the King and Queen, not that they care to pay much attention to their spare. He uses his parent's indifference to his advantage, preferring to spend his days amongst the common folk, finding the royal court stifling and so incredibly dull. When the United Obsidian Council of Eldebroake requested an elven representative, Balcan jumped at the chance. Noone in his land would even consider the position, the elves of Carlisla viewing themselves above such a task. Balcan has taken to his role as a council member well and has been the one and only elven representative for decades, forming fast friendships across the domains. One such friendship happened in his youth with the second heir to the Duchy of Caruna, Caneron Locksmith. Both overlooked by their families, the two young elves formed an unbreakable kinship, that later developed into romantic love for Balcan. Unfortunately, Caneron's mind is preoccupied with saving his cousin from a deadly curse, but Balcan holds out hope that one day his head may turn his way.

[merrypaladin]

My first NPC. I still can't believe I was supposed to kill him off early but @darkurgetrash saw a snobby grumpy man and said 'yep he's mine' (and I'm very glad she did).

I am thinking it’s a sign—that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images, and when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned.

(Pendle belongs to @merrypaladin)

[merrypaladin]

"We do not need laws to show us compassion and respect for our fellow man for we know in our hearts the difference between right and wrong. It is the Magian way".

A closer look at Magia, land of the fae, the weird and the wonderful. It once experienced a time of turmoil and was almost lost, if not for a powerful wizard named Galen. Galen sacrificed himself, turning his magical power into a tree that gave life to the plants of Magia, creating a sentient race. This sacrifice also created permanent seasons across the 4 regions of Magia, each with a unique geography and people. Kassandra is the capital of this domain, where the fae intermingle with common folk, magic sewn into the very fabric of the land. The Sapling Librarium, one of Eldebroake's magical insistutions, resides in Kassandra as a place of learning for the humble mage. What is most unique about Magia is their lack of laws. The Magians believe that all people are good at heart and that laws are not needed to dictate the difference between right and wrong, with some wonderful and disastrous consequences.

This lawlessness sometimes requires the help of a very special tour guide to assist the unsuspecting traveller. Querkly Quercus, a sentient acorn, is such a tour guide from the foliage strewn region of Autumnvale. He is happy to show outsiders around his home, proud of the Magian way, even if it is a little chaotic.

(Querkly Quercus by @darkurgetrash )