#dnd: last resort movers

[sycamorre]

Can I please get the whole girl gang with Ori, Mela, Vaela, and Riven!

[send me a character]

Oh boy you're making me do my homework over here!

Oriana —

Favorite thing about them: I'm going to be incredibly non-specific and say that her growth as a character was my favorite part of playing her. She started out as this uptight, dutiful monk who was scared to show her own face too much for fear of making people mildly uncomfortable (and honestly to avoid invasive questions) to someone who was finally getting comfortable with who they were was such a blast. I love her newly-acquired confidence and the dynamic it brings to her post-campaign. She's far from perfect, and never will be, but she's maturing and making a new purpose for herself other than being someone's errand girl.

Least favorite thing about them: She is the worst pessimist in the world and sometimes her logic is so quick to jump to the worst conclusions that she literally puts her foot in her mouth. And it hurts for me to write that every single time due to secondhand embarrassment but I have to commit.

Favorite line: "She loved you! She still loves you!" at the Prince during the final fight while she's trying to distract him (or something like that). Or Ori's first jab at Damak "Maybe you would see more of it if you stepped out of the shadows" since it still makes me chuckle.

brOTP: Even though the Ori/Damak ship didn't sail, I still think they probably stay pretty close and end up working together on jobs in the future. They absolutely still push each other's buttons, but that's just how they are and they don't question it.

OTP: I am so mad at myself retroactively for not giving into the OriRanna feels by the conclusion of the campaign but I do not regret bringing it up afterwards and getting to enjoy it now at least.

nOTP: Ori and Cobalt are forever divorced and they barely know each other, this is just canon.

Random Headcanon: Ori has a hard time accepting the fact that Sharaea is basically keeping her distance after the Prince's defeat. In part because she does feel that connection still and worries that Sharaea is hurting, and partially because it is such a strange sensation to her to be without the dreams for so long after such a major revelation. It takes her a long time to get used to it, but she still wishes that there was more she could do.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion among our little group, but I never had intentions of making Oriana some kind of fated hero. I never had thoughts of making her tied to a major NPC or giving her any kind of serious destiny, I just wanted to play a radiant energy bomb with the aasimar/monk combo because I thought it would be funny once I pitched the idea to Sam and he told me about Damak who was basically her foil. But I do adore how her story developed and how well it ended up narratively.

Song I associate with them: So many... "Like the Dawn" by The Oh Hellos, "Warrior" by AURORA, and "Drumming Song" by Florence + The Machine to name a few.

Favorite picture of them: I like a lot but honestly one of my favs is the one I made of Chibs trying to hit on her, partly because it's Chibs and partly because I did really like how Ori's outfit came out in this one.

Mela —

Favorite thing about them: Literally the most wholesome member of the group. Not a bad bone or crystal in her body. I am so sorry for all that we put her though.

Least favorite thing about them: Only that I didn't get enough time to learn more about her and her backstory. Sigh.

Favorite line: "Real neighbors. Real family. Not just people that make you feel like you can pretend it doesn't exist."

brOTP: Mela and Halion. Druid buddies that deserve the world.

OTP: Mela is an independent Genasi who don't need no one... though I could be swayed about a certain fae...

nOTP: Literally anyone who would try to be mean to her in a relationship will meet a swift end by my hand.

Random Headcanon: 100% think that Mela's magic is flavored to look like the crystals on her body. If she wildshapes and doesn't specifically want to look a certain way, the animal she changes into will have things like crystal horns/claws, the flame sword she summons has the appearance of a crystal blade, etc.

Unpopular Opinion: I do wish she had gotten a chance to use wild shape more. I think Mela being a cute little critter sneaking around would have been amazing.

Song I associate with them: "Come Out and Play" by Billie Eilish

Favorite picture of them: That dang sketch I never colored, rip

Vaela —

Favorite thing about them: Drinking game QUEEN. Also just the fact that she doesn't take any shit while still having a lot of heart and empathy to those who earn it. Something about that balance between the two just made her all the more lovable.

Least favorite thing about them: she can out-drink my high constituion monk I do think I missed out on really getting to know her during the campaign, and I regret that a lot.

Favorite line: Not a specific line but I think back to Vaela's talks with Erosen when he was ready and willing to be her stand-in dad before Vaela was ready to reach back out to her family and i can't help but smile.

brOTP: Vaela, Riven, and Mela is the real brot3 and nothing can change my mine

OTP: I mean... I definitely have a certain paladin that turns a lovely shade of pink when someone talks about her because she sure is pretty and really cool to boot~

nOTP: Zaresh and his memory is not allowed to ever hurt Vaela again. If Damak didn't do it, Ori would have definitely put him out of his misery.

Random Headcanon: Very little thing, but I could see her gathering small, light trinkets that remind her of her friends and tie them to her bow, possibly for good luck, and possibly as a way to to tell which direction the wind is blowing when she's aiming.

Unpopular Opinion: I still think it would have been cool for her to pull an Erosen and punch Zaresh in the face. Just once.

Song I associate with them: "Dear Fellow Traveler" by Sea Wolf

Favorite picture of them: So fun fact: I never finished them but I started making emojis of the party members for kicks and here's the one I started of Vaela:

Riven —

Favorite thing about them: Riven's sassiness and perfect comedic timing always leaves me in stitches. She really felt like the heart of the party in that way.

Least favorite thing about them: This is the hardest thing and most of my "least favorite" things are mostly the things Oriana keeps fretting about when she thinks about Riven being in such a high position so I'm gonna go with not much at this time to be honest.

Favorite line: Not a line again, but specifically the scene between Ori and Riven where Riv dressed her up while Ori reassured her that she didn't think any less of Riven after they all found out about her half-drow heritage. That always felt like a major point in their friendship and I hold onto it fondly.

brOTP: I wanna say Riven and Halion just because I think their friendship was so neat, and it hurts a bit when I think about their falling out post-campaign. But there's also Riv and Damak's sibling-ish dynamic that I love a lot, too.

OTP: As much as he pushes Ori's nerves, I do think Riv and Delethil are on the same wavelength as each other and fit very well together, even with Eravin in the mix.

nOTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Random Headcanon: On the occasions where Oriana comes up to Aerenth on business (either with Ranna for her research or at the request of various Tyados officials who think she's got some kind of in with them because she's friends with Riven), Ori always makes a point to find Riven and any of the other girls that might be there with them after all the formalities are done and run off into the woods to find a clearing to just hang out in like they did before.

Unpopular Opinion: As much as I understand the reason why she and Del made the choice to execute Vasion, I still disagree that it was the best decision.

Song I associate with them: "Savage Daughter" by Sarah Hester mostly because of the rebellious vibes

Favorite picture of them: I mean... I think it's obvious (also bonus Vaela).

[soartfullydone]

🗡 You know how rogues do 🗡

Stupidly proud of this cosplay and these pictures, but gosh, Riven deserves it!

[sycamorre]

“Ranna?” Oriana asked, low enough that only the two of them could hear. “Yes?” A tiny smile curved Oriana’s lips. “You owe me a dance—in private.” Ranna laughed in relief and no small amount of giddiness. “A price I will gladly pay.”

Finally some proper couple art of these two c: My Oriana and @editoress's Ranna, with the text quoted from the little snippet she wrote here.

Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

[sycamorre]

Inspired by this clip that was shared in our D&D group chat.

Vaela - @zacksfairest, Mela - @oxforddrama, Riven - @soartfullydone, and the “healing monk” is my Oriana.

[sycamorre]

A very quick and rough sketch just to get it out of my head. Ori and Ranna snuggles, possibly after Ranna has pulled some kind of all-nighter on a project and Ori can't bear to move her after she's fallen asleep.

(as always, Ranna belongs to the ever lovely @editoress)

[sycamorre]

Finished an art! Now I can go back to BG3 without this nagging at the back of my mind. Might come back and add a few details later on but I'm content with it for now.

Probably gonna use this as a tester for a thing I want to make. Spoiler alert: a pin (because I have an addiction). We'll see how that goes.

[sycamorre]

Tell me about Ledo and Riven. There's a roguish pirate energy there. You know? Also if I would trust Vaela to be safe and feel peace around anyone it might be Tala. Oriana and Cook sparring ehehehe

I definitely see what you mean. If any pair of characters would sign up for swashbuckling adventures, or at least semi-legal ones, I could see Riv and Ledo being that pair. Ledo does tend to be a bit more on the serious side compared to Riven, but even she likes to let loose every once in a while and I think she'd get a kick out of Riv's antics and would definitely make her cool things that would range from actually useful for things like sneaking or distracting, or just something she thinks would help Riven pull off something funny.

Tala would absolutely, 100% decide that Vaela deserved to chill out and feel protected, and would make it a goal to be sure that she did. Especially now that I'd have her as an Oath of Ancients paladin rather than a fighter. In fact, besides being a literal gentle giant Firbolg full of calm vibes, she would probably be able to bond a good bit with Vaela since they both would have some connections to nature between her oath and Vaela's ranger skills. Chill forest buddies.

man do I still want to play Tala one day in a longer campaign

I don't know what Oriana's initial reaction would be to seeing Cook trying to fight with a knife and cleaver, even in a spar, but I could very much see her more curious than anything else. Definitely asking a lot of questions mid-fight that miiiight annoy Cook. But also for your consideration: Oriana and Cook fighting together in a bar brawl. Now that would be spectacular.

@soartfullydone @zacksfairest @oxforddrama

[sycamorre]

Okay but I am still obsessed with the idea of Vaela going to visit Ori back home. Partially for Ori herself. Partially to get a chance to chat with her brother some more. I still think about that from time to time

YESSS I think about this a lot, too. In fact, I have a few thoughts of my own:

Firstly,  I imagine that after the ball, Hester approached Vaela when Ori wasn't around and asked if she basically wanted to be pen pals. Because he's a dork and doesn't have fancy magic speaking stones. Basically the equivalent of "here's my number text me if you want to"  while trying to be smooth about it and probably failing a bit. But at the very least he is trying to make it low-pressure for her.

At some point Ori would get a hint of what was going on and would absolutely be a driving force behind Vaela getting an invitation to come down to the coast for a beach vacation and to meet the family. Hester would get teased endlessly and he would be hopelessly outnumbered by the girls.

I feel like Vaela would enjoy spending time with Oriana’s family. Her mom, Maia, would make Vaela something nice to wear as a gift, and the middle sibling, Asta, has a lot of similar tastes to Vaela and would definitely take her shopping.

At some point during this whole event, Hester would get the idea to take Vaela out on a walk and picnic dinner out by the ocean (but still within view of the city, since he's given a few light warnings from Ori just in case Vaela might not be super comfortable being totally alone with him just yet), right before the sun sets and the evening stars begin to come out. He would probably just want to talk and laugh with her, maybe dance again without a crowd of people around them. Or if she's feeling adventurous, he's got one cool Find Steed spell up his sleeve and they can go for a ride down the beach. And maybe if things go well, he'd extend an invitation for her to visit him whenever she wants in Tyados' capital city...

@zacksfairest

[soartfullydone]

Still can’t believe how well this thrown-together cosplay of my girl Riven has turned out I’m emo about it

[sycamorre]

more indulgent doodles I did kinda recently of my Aasimar, featuring her unexpected arch nemesis and her very confused big bro who got dropped in the middle of the story’s final chapter

(the vampire man in the first doodle belongs to @editoress)

[sycamorre]

“The name’s Chibs.”

Reason #942 to play D&D: Your character might get hit on by a frat boy goblin in the underdark because he wants a tall girlfriend.

Happy Valentines Day ya filthy animals (◡‿◡✿)

[sycamorre]

Okay now YOUR Ori/Damak and Ori/Ranna thoughts!!

*cracks knuckles* Time to get wordy.

As a starting point: coming into the campaign, I really debated having Oriana be ace, even though ultimately that is no longer the case for her. However, that uncertainty I had when starting off with her did get a bit incorporated into how she views relationships, particularly with her situation and the whole "hey I've got some celestial thing in my head telling me what to do" bit she's had going on. She never saw herself as someone who would have the ability to settle down because of all that in addition to her just being weird (and potentially a ticking radiant time bomb). Taking care of the people around her and looking out for them? Sure, she's got that handled. Letting her emotions get involved with it any deeper than that? Wait no that's illegal.

So looking at it from that angle, imagine her surprise when Damak openly admits that he finds her attractive (!) and is not joking in any way (!!).

I do love them as a ship, both the narrative/thematic opposites they have going on that create a satisfying foil between them, but also the smooth meshing of personality traits that have made them a good team. They can be ready to kick ass at a moment's notice. Ori can look to him to act as someone to ground herself on, since he can be both serious or humorous depending on what a situation needs, the whole nine yards. And she would very much like to be the one that helps him keep his cool when they get to Fantasy!Russia if nothing else. They could easily be a nice slow burn if we had more time before the inevitable end, but either way I could see them being such a nice, chill ship that feels like a long-established one. Very natural regardless of their differences! The funniest thing to me about the whole thing, though, is that I don't think he was initially on her radar at the beginning. Not just because she was all "no settling down for me" but because they fell into that sort of rivalry so quickly that she figured he wouldn't even think about her like that in passing. But now even she's realizing that yeah, he is attractive even if he likes the cold and she has no idea how to handle any of this besides sweeping it under the rug until she feels like she's allowed to let it out.

Oriana may be giving off a pretty chill air about the whole thing right now, but that's mostly because she has other worries to focus on as a distraction. Inside she's a mess of confusion and emotions. We'll see if she decides to unironically yolo it because she's convinced she's gonna die anyway or take it slow and easy because she's a nervous wreck waiting to happen. We're definitely in the "let's see what happens" stage at the moment.

Ori and Ranna though... That would be such a sweet ship. Basically Ranna used charm and supportive friendship, Ori failed her save and it was super effective! When I realized that Oriana could potentially develop feelings for Ranna, it was too late because oops Damak happened. But! That does not mean I still haven't speculated! I will speculate until the day I die!

You mentioned how much blushing and pining Ranna would do in this situation, but have you considered how much Ori would just... bumble through it all? I could see Ranna doing these grand, romantic gestures (hopefully not in public) and Ori would just cease to function and go tomato red or get all blubbery because no one ever does those kinds of things for her. Ranna’s already been her hype man for the latter portion of the campaign and if this were where their relationship took them, Ori would just make one of her life goals be making sure that Ranna knew she felt just as loved and appreciated, from using her light magic to enhance Ranna’s performances to following her wherever her heart’s desire led them. Gods be damned. This would be a very, very fluff-filled ship. My only reservation is that I don’t know Ranna’s exact age so I can’t pinpoint whether or not these two are on a similar enough maturity level where it would feel natural for them or not since they both have elven blood, but that’s a lesser concern in the grand scheme of things.

And even though it wouldn’t be canon in this campaign, the thought of this ship has actually inspired me to add in a bit to Ori’s backstory that her one significant crush during her training years was a performer from a traveling group that would come during spring/summer festivals at the villages around the monastery. So now that would potentially add even more to this ship if it were ever a part of an AU or something along those lines.

[sycamorre]

when you’re trying to make yourself just as scary as the badger man that you have to maintain a rivalry with

One more doodle before the work week starts. A rough summary of Oriana and Damak’s relationship thus far in the campaign. Based on this post.

[sycamorre]

More indulgent D&D sketching of my aasimar gal, this time an actual scene! Oriana gets treated to some interesting dreams every once in a while (◡‿◡✿)

[sycamorre]

hoo boy it’s been a while since I’ve done a full portrait, and this’ll be my first in clip studio, too. A simple one for @editoress of her character Ranna!

[sycamorre]

Indulgant Oriana sketch I did last night when I was too tired to do anything else. Tested coloring on my phone while trying to stay sane at work today when I couldn’t focus and honestly it turned out better than I thought.