Arts. Arts and Craaafts.

Observe. Like? Ask? Please oh please reblog. I also post stuff over at Matrica_PbP, which is a TTRPG Actual Play you can read.

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Links

The Story

The Story with Comments Enabled on Google Docs

The Story on AO3

Wiki

Archive

Ask (Note: See our Wiki for the answers to many potential questions)

Twitter

Our side-blog for reblogs

[gildivel]

Check it out. We gots lots of fine quality content over here!

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Raza and Sieger are nerds who like strategy games. (The strategy here being footsies.)

As always, you can read about the adventures and slow-burn flirtation of these fellas in our novelized PF2e actual play:

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Kaspar

Name: Kaspar Svylas

Heritage: Half-elf

Class: Ranger (Precision Edge)

Free Archetype: Scout

View Kaspar’s full character sheet on Pathbuilder

Coming to botany by way of a former apothecary practice, Kaspar was a last minute replacement for a more academically-trained naturalist. He comes from a survivalist background, having defended himself from dangerous creatures while braving the wildlands of Akeris to collect rare and potent ingredients. This prepared him for his other (some might argue more important) job on this mission, protecting the Starborn. When he is not recording specimens for the next volume of his botanical field guide, Kaspar spends his time concocting bizarre elixers and compounds— some for healing purposes, and others to just get high.

Follow Kaspar’s shenanigans and bad decisions in Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Sieger

Name: Sieger of Thalassa

Heritage: Tiefling

Class: Magus (Inexorable Iron Study)

Free Archetype: Mauler

View Sieger’s full character sheet on Pathbuilder

Sieger is captain of the airship Okhema, having worked his way up the ranks of the Wespros Shipping Company for the last fifteen years. Prior to this, Sieger remembers nothing except being hauled wounded out of the Thalassan sea— a body of water that has been largely displaced with the return of the missing continent Matrica. Sieger suspects that he has some connection to this land, but he doesn’t know what, nor if he wishes to find out. As he charters this expedition, he has chosen to wear disguises, lest his past find him. When he is not serving his captainly duties, Sieger is an introverted fellow who likes to spend his time reading poetry and nonfiction, drinking tea, and enjoying the antics of his crew.

Follow Sieger as he uncovers the mysteries of his past in Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Raza

Name: Raza Teuzar Anaqvi dar Anjem

Heritage: Human

Class: Wizard (School of Divination)

Free Archetype: Chronoskimmer

View Raza’s full character sheet on Pathbuilder

Raza, the expedition’s arcanist, is the scion of a long line of mages who have served the monarchs of Teusqa as advisors and guardians. He has spent his entire life until now steeped in magical academia in preparation for his future role, even serving as a professor of Divination while he concludes his post-doctoral schooling. The Matrica mission is the capstone of his long arcane education— one final educational field-trip before entering the world of politics. On the very rare occasions that he is not honing his spellcraft, Raza enjoys playing strategy board games and staying up unconscionably late stargazing.

Follow Raza’s journey to be a good wizard and totally not fall prey to curiosity and hubris in Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Florian

Name: Florian of House Valencourt, The Starborn

Heritage: Solar elf

Class: Oracle (Cosmos Mystery)

Free Archetype: Blessed One

View Florian’s full sheet on Pathbuilder

If elves are lucky, once a generation their kind is blessed with a Starborn. The glory of House Valencourt and a boon to all solar elves, Florian is a symbol of the Day-Star’s favor; a reward for his family’s dedication and achievements. Florian has joined the mission as a diplomat and emissary of solar elven civilization. He is trained in every elven high art form, has mastered every courtly grace imaginable, and is a charming and magnetic person to be around. He is also a product of the cutthroat social-climbing aristocracy who has learned to wield his talents in devious and cruel ways. What does Florian enjoy, outside of manipulating people into acting in his own self-interest? He’ll never tell.

Witness Florian’s scheming in action in Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Yufi

Name: Yufitri Bangura

Heritage: Stellar elf

Class: Inventor (Armor Innovation)

Free Archetype: Sterling Dynamo

View Yufi’s full character sheet on Pathbuilder

Yufi found himself in the Okhema’s path right at the moment they needed him, as the best (and only) craftsman in town when their damaged ship reached Matrica’s shores. And of course, being the bleeding heart that he is, Yufi would have volunteered to join the mission even without his unexpected ties to the captain— now he just has an even more pressing reason to come along. Yufi’s work is also his hobby, and when he is not crafting magical inventions he will still usually be found in the workshop, either tinkering on something new or adding modifications and clever features to his prosthetic arm.

Follow Yufi’s repeated attempts to pull himself together in Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Meet the Characters: Madoc

Name: Madoc Roswen, “Le Papillon”

Heritage: Fey elf

Class: Swashbuckler (Battledancer Style)

Free Archetype: Oracle (reflavored Bone mystery)

View Madoc’s full character sheet on Pathbuilder

With his arrival as Yufi’s plus-one, Madoc’s place on the crew is not entirely clear. He oscillates between being an adept fighter, a flashy showman, a neurotic people-pleaser, and a depressed recluse. Said oscillations are made all the more clear by shifts in his appearance’s hue— an uncontrollable quirk of his fey blood. The vague and often horrifying details Madoc offers about his past do nothing to clarify his peculiarities. What is certain, however, is his commitment to aiding Yufi (and therefore the mission).

Follow along in the unraveling of Madoc’s mystery in Matrica: A Novelized Actual Play

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Just a little doodle of the trauma buddies. (Yufi puts on a brave face but he will usually succumb to Madoc’s offer of a hug)

[vangelisarcadius]

We needed some more art of Madoc’s other colors* for our “Meet the Characters” posts on the Matrica blog so here is his blue version! It’s his sad form, unfortunately. Don’t ask him about the crystal in his chest, it gets him down.

*Madoc is a homebrewed, color-shifting, legally distinct (cough Eladrin cough) fey elf.

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

whoops I only posted him on my personal blog. HERE HE IS

[-Vangelis]

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Raza and Sieger had a bit of a misunderstanding. (If you’ve read Chapter 18 of Matrica… well, you can probably figure out why Raz is upset.)

Just a little black n white doodle today, trying out some different brushes and approaches. What do you guys think, do you like seeing rougher drawings like this, or do you prefer fully rendered scenes?

Matrica: A Novelized Actual Play is free to read a bunch of different places and we would love you forever if you did it

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Silly little moment that I had to doodle. Sorry for the lack of context— you’ll get it once we post chapter 20!

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

You know… “teambuilding.”

Kinda spoilery art but we’ve established that Kaspar and Madoc have complimentary attitudes about no-strings intimacy, so it’s not exactly surprising, right?

Matrica: A Novelized Actual-Play is a live-play pathfinder game in prose form. It’s free! It’s fun! It’s got handsome lads hooking up! Go read it!

Read on the Matrica Wiki | Read on AO3 | Read on Google docs

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Real talk fellas, it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve drawn so I was feeling a little rusty. And when in doubt, I return to my comfort dirtbag Kaspar.

Pretty sure this falls under “artistic nudity” vis a vis tumblr rules, but I didn’t want to jumpscare you all with bare ass, so find the full piece under the cut!

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

We’re on a bit of a writing hiatus, so don’t mined me while I entertaining myself by picturing a prohibition-era AU for the fellas. Visually, Raza changes very little, since he’s already a human with a pretty timeless look. But narratively, it’s strange imagining our goody-two-shoes wizard in a world without magic, especially ending up a life of crime! Perhaps his family fell on hard times and he had to put his brain to work being a bookie.

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Hiatus continues, so have another Prohibition AU doodle! Sieger is probably one of the major design departures, seeing as how the real world doesn’t have tieflings. He kind of has cop energy, but maybe there was corruption in the force, so he quit. Hence why he just looks like a badass P.I.

(We also imagine that both he and Yufi served in WWI, the closest analog to our in-fiction conflict. AU Sieger was maybe a POW and suffered some sort of traumatic head injury. After the allies win, he’s alive and rescued but still doesn’t remember shit.)

[matrica-a-novelized-actual-play]

Another Prohibition AU doodle. Yufi was hard because humans don’t normally come in a purple/silver color combo. Also, I made some effort on the background but as you can probably tell I got tired of drawing fiddly machine parts so... here we are.

Fun fact I did reference some 1920s prosthetics for his arm. WWI had a lot of vets, yanno.