#zebuxoruk

[mischievousblade]

Call of the Forsaken

What an unexpected expansion. I have avoided playing it for years because most of the zones I have visited are just depressing. Which is actually the whole point of the expansion but then again who wants to play depressing stuff all the time... Anyway there are good zones: Argin-Hiz (home of the Fire Elfs) is awsome, Neriak Fourth Gate with it's court affairs is brilliant and the Tower of Rot is lots of fun.

It all ends in the Void with Zebuxoruk and Lady Lendiniara - and Lanys T'Vyl (again). And - surprise - Lanys was playing her own game all along, lying and trying to outsmart everyone. Who would have thought 😂

[fae-ray-encore]

They’re knuckleheads.

[fae-ray-encore]

Re-post from SFW.

First piece experimenting with Vide the Derro sporting my homebrew Derro design. For all my love of Derro, I have to be honest with myself and recognize their D&D designs are essentially blue gnomes and with the aesthetic of  “patchy clothing”. My other Derro character, Tohuys, is already sporting the look as a mutant but I decided that if I’m going to change the look of Snow Elves (who were just…typical looking Elves in winter fashion) then I might as well go all in.

To that end I’ve given them more monstrous features. The key being a sprinkle of the mildly-threatening than anything that changes the key concept. SO:

1. Sharp teeth.

2. Upturned bat-like nose.

3. Ears shaped like bat wings. Not bat-ears or fish fins, but bat wings.

Its actually only in hindsight that I realized how appropriate a bat-motif is for a cave dwelling race. And while I certainly wouldn’t have them flying by their ears or turning them into full on bat people: I think giving their foggy eyed blind selves an echo-location power would be interesting. Not to mention the narrative lure of a screeching Derro raiding party or the maddening cacophony of a Derro warren. Bats, with their twitchy, insect eating, panicky nature fitting in quite well. Much like how Dark Elves have spiders, Derro have bats incorporated into their aesthetics.

To add to the madness I’m also going to add a spiral, swirling, fractal undertone to their (currently non-existent) artistry. Everything can still look ragged, but the hovels and villages would lack straight lines. The Derro mind show its preference for a kaleidoscopic Halloween view. Its groan-worthy to say but “Tim Burton-esque” is a good description. Anyone familiar with a Twilight Hammer cult in Wacraft will also have a good idea.

Derro origins have never been consistent throughout the settings but I found their start as Homunculi to be the most interesting. Gives real call to the echo of a degenerate culture. My homebrew idea as corrupted halflings feels like a waist in comparison. So I’ll have to do some thinking.

[fae-ray-encore]

Repost here. Tohuys, the murderously righteous Derro. Some mutation acquired. Commissioner stated on non-nsfw blog.