stelliferia

stef || she/her [amateur artist, d&d enthusiast, lover of kobolds, pianist, and occasional (albeit terrible) gamer] [current obsessions include fe3h, castlevania, wotakoi, and critical role] [forever in love with fma, rolling with remix - fallen empires, steins;gate, outer wilds, and studio ghibli] Here’s where I put all my art, d&d adventures (as a dm or player,) random thoughts and other such things

[stelliferia]

So yknow my kobold arcane trickster rogue, Kitt? She has a familiar now! His name is Mugwump (after the Canadian cryptid) and he is the best familiar I could ever ask for. What a beautiful good boy.

The process for this little boi was probably the best way I’ve seen find familiar done. The DM’s an absolute legend. I keep thinking about it, and it just make me cry.  Process/backstory dump under the cut. It’s a little long, be warned

I’m so sorry in advance, this became something of a writing exercise for me - if you read it, I really appreciate it, and feel free to send me a PM  if you want to chat!

So in addition to the usual components for the spell (10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs, and a bronze brazier) Kitt was required to collect a few other things. As someone who casts through her mind (intelligence) she needed to find three objects that represented mastery over three parts of her mind, in order to to have a familiar that represented it.

First was what does she want. Second was what would she do to get what she wanted. And the third was what does she fear will happen if she doesn’t get what she wants.

After much deliberating (on both hers and my parts), Kitt settled on the following things. A feather, some rope, and a set of charred wooden dice.

The feather represented freedom. Freedom from the slumbering ancient red dragon she used to collect shinies, and the threat of the terrible things it is capable of if it wakes. She wants for the rest of the kobolds to be free too. To explore the world and see the wonders it has to offer, no longer bound to endless servitude, just like she is now. The feather itself came from a hawk that used to belong to a very unpleasant man who had since been drowned, freeing it - something Kitt would want for herself and the other kobolds.

The rope represented Kitt’s willingness to explore to the ends of the earth(?) to find the Great Blade that is said to be capable of slaying the dragon for good. If the Blade isn’t the answer, she intends to keep on looking. Her dragonborn companion once told her rope was the most important thing an adventurer could have. So if she’ll be travelling a lot, Kitt figures she’s going to need quite a significant amount.

The charred dice represented everything she’s come to know and love being destroyed. This expansive, scary, beautiful world that she still has so much to learn about, would be ripped away from her if something wasn’t done about the dragon. She’d never see them again - her beloved Priestess telling stories with the shimmery pictures, or her friends and weasel running about, calling her to play. And while she hasn’t known them for quite as long, the crew, no, friends she’s made, she wouldn’t want them taken from her either. They still have stories to write write, quests to complete, and she wants to help see them through to the end. The dice, before they were charred, had delicate gold lettering etched onto each of the faces, and finished with a rich mahogany varnish. They were the first shinies she had ever found, and her first exposure to the outside world. She has fond memories with these dice, of her and her friend sneaking off during rituals to admire and play with the pretty shinies, delighting in the clickity-clackity noise they’d make as they hit the ground. As she went to put them in the fire place, her eyes started welling up, watching her precious reminder of home going up in flames. She quickly wiped them away, as the dice burned and blackened beyond recognition, and she started the ritual.

Falling into a meditative trance, visions surrounded her. She’s standing on the ship deck, nothing and no one else around, except the hawk, soaring above her. She blinked, and suddenly, she was seeing through the hawk’s eyes. It flew over the various islands, some of which she had visited, some of them soon to be. The scene shifts again, and she’s standing again, but this time, its somewhere hot, ashy, and dark. She’s home again. As her eyes adjust, her heart sinks to the floor. All of her friends. Dead. Reluctantly, she looks around. And it’s not just them, but all of the crew, the people she’s met along the way, and her clan, scattered like ragdolls. Looking away from the bodies, she comes snout to snout with a familiar face. A face she spent her life fearing, and hoped never to see again, and not like this. The Great Dragon Viskelaer was awake. 

Waking with a gasp, she found herself back in her quarters. Her heart was pounding, and her face was wet with tears. She curled into a ball, shaken by what she saw. There was a tug at her scarf, and when she looked, bright blue eyes looked back at her. The small mahogany creature pawed its way into Kitt’s lap, and its rope-like tail curling around as it settles in for a nap. Tentatively, the kobold reached out her claws to pet it, like she did the weasels back home. This one felt a little different though. The fur was more like soft feathers, somewhat reminiscent of the hawk. Realizing what had happened, Kitt’s cracked the tiniest grin. This weasel, Mugwump, is her precious shiny, and she was going to make sure she worked to protect it.

RIGHT SO THAT WAs BASICLALY WHAT HAPPENED for Kitt to get her familiar, and nearly everything about it I attribute to my incredible DM. I think he’s the first DM I’ve had who’s given me a world I absolutely adore, and he handles my character (monster race) so incredibly well. He’s very much all about the creative reflavouring, and I live for it. Gahh I have so much to say about this DM. They also handle Mugwump (in-game) very well, and it makes me so unbelievably happy. (i’m going to start a tag for myself for things Mugwump does/things I headcannon he does, called Mugwump Ventures)

So because of Kitt’s love of shinies, Mugwump has an inherent need for them as well. He doesn’t quite understand why though, so his natural response is to bite shinies he finds. He’s always actively seeking them out, eyes glittering whenever he sees one. He melts my heart. The forge cleric (one of my good friends in the group) had just gotten an upgrade to his armour, and didn’t know what to do with his old chain mail, so he ended up giving it to Kitt/Mugwump as a gift. Mugwump was overjoyed, and it’s his new toy now. It was so so sweet, and we are all crying. 

Tangent, but everyone in the party has gifted Kitt with something at some point. I mean, makes sense, you want to appease the captain >:). The druid gave her little daisies whenever he went to get her, the carpenter made her a little boat model, and the forge cleric not only gave her the armour, but he also forged her a proper rapier to replace her pointy stick. It’s just so sweet and wholesome. The crewjust wants to keep this little Kobold child happy

Gosh, another thing, when i first thought about casting Find Familiar, I just assumed it would be a regular weasel, but when the DM began describing Mugwump’s appearance, I began squealing from joy. Every aspect of the familiar’s appearance reflects the items, and what they mean to Kitt. So the eyes were meant to be the seas they were sailing, the rope tail was... the rope, the colouring was supposed to  be the dice and the charring, the feathers for freedom/the hawk, and the form (though predetermined) was home. I was legit so happy about it. I love this DM. It’s been a great time.

Anyways, long post over thanks for reading, hope you stay tuned for more wholesome content!

[stelliferia]

Kitt, the kobold scoutarcane trickster rogue. She screm... god what a menace I love her so much.if you fail her vibe check she will steal from you, and bring the shinies to her big Dragonborn paladin friend, who is trying to instil morals in her (the dragonborn is something of a Robinhood type character)

What started as our dm offhandedly mentioning a pirate themed setting they made at the beginning of quarantine, soon became a plan for a short, episodic campaign. They has so much lore set up, a lovely map, and just. So. Much. Stuff. They had a preset list of 14 races (w kobolds being a very recent addition) and I cannot stress this enough, so much juicy lore.

They had an archipelago that was absolutely perfect for kobolds that also had a bit of a... secret (dormant ancient dragon oh noooo) I swear this group only enables my love of kobolds... it might be getting a little unhealthy... on the other hand, it’s given me inspiration to make a kobold oneshot/campaign, one I intend to name “Kobold Krimes.”

I made the shaded version of Kitt into an emote for the group’s discord server... gonna try and make one for everyone~ (^-^) I love this group so much

[stelliferia]

There are a few thoughts that live in my brain rent free these days. #1 - I miss living on my own. #2 - Kelluan Pinesnout the kobold lore bard archaeologist. And #3 - I love my current d&d group so much. They are all lovely and incredible people, and I can’t wait to see them all in person (some day in the future.)

Bonus: I wish my communications prof actually communicated with us (:

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It’s him!! It’s the boy!! We’ve befriended a little sapphire otter in the campaign with Tephra... I love the campaign so much I cannot stress this enough... the party and the DM are lovely, and just mmm excellent

We collectively named him Lulu (like cthulu) and we all love him so much

[stelliferia]

Tephra, the earth genasi barbarian

Not for a campaign (yet,) I just really wanted a martial character, since I don’t play them often. Haven’t thought of a background yet, but a gladiator works

I started using textured overlays in the digital art. It just adds so much more than my usual flat colours/airbrush shading. Her skin is more stone-like, and the fabric looks rough and textured. Also the dried blood stains... I had lots of fun experimenting with overlays.

I used an earthy tones pallet to choose the colours, and I’m quite pleased with the result

[stelliferia]

Update: I’ve joined a campaign I can play her in

[stelliferia]

Tephra, the earth genasi barbarian

Not for a campaign (yet,) I just really wanted a martial character, since I don’t play them often. Haven’t thought of a background yet, but a gladiator works

I started using textured overlays in the digital art. It just adds so much more than my usual flat colours/airbrush shading. Her skin is more stone-like, and the fabric looks rough and textured. Also the dried blood stains... I had lots of fun experimenting with overlays.

I used an earthy tones pallet to choose the colours, and I’m quite pleased with the result

[stelliferia]

I crave cuddles

[stelliferia]

Imma compile everything from the past few sessions into this post. We’re halfway through the campaign now, and not a single death so far (one character went unconscious twice, but otherwise they were okay.) They really haven’t taken much damage collectively. I think I’ll have to crank up enemy damage output and attacks so the healer actually spends time healing/spellcasters can’t just get away with just fireball. Long post under the cut

I’m not going to lie, I think I’m going to burnout soon. I’m dealing with a varied group of mostly beginners, and two/three  (i’m doubting the third ngl) experienced people. The two experienced players definitely get into the role play but the beginners... kind of don’t. I understand their hesitation, learning mechanics and dealing with your character’s story, personality etc. is a lot to handle for a first time. But I do wish they’d engage more. I’ve tried pulling them into the narrative by interacting with them as NPCs, and encouraging group role play, but after they say a few words they just zone back out. It’s really just the one experienced player that leads any shenanigans/role play encounters, and it’s really starting to look like some kind of favoritism, or the PC taking the spotlight, when in reality they’re just trying to lead by example and no one is responsive to it. At some point one of the players was really adverse to some of the shenanigans that occurred (her character had water dumped on her in the morning)(more on this later) Ability checks too. If anyone asks to make an ability check its been that experienced PC and a second one asking to make checks, and I have to ask the inexperienced players if they want to make any checks of their own. I get it, sometimes they don’t know they can/should, but we’re halfway through the campaign and they’ve seen the others doing it too. I get it’s a little to ask with the fear of rejection (not succeeding, not getting information, etc), but something I’ve learned to do as a DM is allow for people to make checks, even if the module doesn’t have anything for it. They just aren’t interacting with the world or the other players much, and it just takes so much of my energy when i keep having to pay attention to that and try to make it happen. I understand that maybe this isn’t a role play kind of group. I’ll acknowledge that. But for me, role play is what makes dungeons and dragons fun and exciting. I never got to do any in my old campaigns despite the DM/my now ex trying to encourage it (never actually gave us opportunities) and I’ve been trying to bring that into this campaign because d&d is a role playing game, y’know? i might take a short break from DM-ing for this group in a week or two, mostly because my roleplayer is going on vacation then, and uh, one of the coming encounters is a lot of roleplay as opposed to combat. and I’m worried that the group is either going to get bored, or I get really drained trying to run it, or everything just falls apart right then and there. I really want to do what i can to encourage them to roleplay, and I still think there’s something I’m missing. If someone actually read this/read this far and has some advice, I’d really appreciate it. 

Right so that player who really didn’t like the role play shenanigans that occurred. That’s our wizard. Her character slept in, so our rogue (experienced player 1) and the three halflings in a trench coat (exp. P2) decided they’d go dump a bucket of water on her and some of the other characters who were asleep. I was thoroughly enjoying the banter and roleplay of the players, but the wizard... didn’t seem to be having it. She objected (rather strenuously) out of character, and didn’t seem to address the fact that shes sopping we tin the game. I get that there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed in roleplay. I usually  rule no hitting on other PC’s unless it was previously agreed to, or any kind of assult, etc. I thought this was a harmless prank, so I let it slide. I just feel a bit guilty that her character was put in a position she didn’t like, but it was just her character, and there wasn’t any drawbacks to it either. I just felt like that interaction just discouraged roleplay and made it a little less fun for me. She didn’t come talk to me other the other two players after the game, so maybe she was just trying to be in character and I misinterpreted? But still. It really made me feel less inclined to include character roleplay that isn’t included in the campaign.

So yeah. At the rate I’m going I’m going to be really drained. We’re also playing at pretty late hours, and it’s making it a bit harder fo rpeople to be focused/for me to not be tired. Our schedules are a lot harder to line up (8 people in total) so it makes sense. But still. Not the most ideal. Anyways. That’s how it’s going. dunno how I feel about this campaign anymore.

[stelliferia]

First dnd session happened. Took up about as much time as I planned for. I tried to incorporate some role play with the group, interacting with them as the various NPCs. Spellcasters really had their time to shine against a werelion, and the three halflings in a trench coat were annihilating the ghouls left and right. I picked some music that seemed to work out nicely, and everyone seemed keen for another session.

Combat really dragged out with seven people, eight ghouls, and a lycanthrope. They had three spellcasters, six silver arrows, and a silver long sword (that they didn’t use? I think they all just forgot about it, and only realized when the lycanthrope was the last things standing with more than half health.)

Also i think the hex blade warlock forgot she could use hex/her spells which would’ve made it go a little faster/I’m not sure she was too focused. To be fair, I think she was hoping this campaign would be more story focused on characters, but the reality of having a seven man band is that that would not happen.

I keep forgetting about the wild magic surge for the wild magic sorcerer. This is the second time. I wrote all of these things down, but not in a place I could see it? So was unfortunate/took away from some of the fun.

Small rant here. While I understand people wanting to get the highest possible chance of succeeding an ability check, sometimes it makes sense for someone with the lower modifier to roll. For example, the person leading the party (fighter/swashbuckler in this) would make a survival check for the group. The wizard and cleric may of had a higher modifier, but they weren’t designated to lead, therefore they don’t make the check. Like, what’s the point of having different stats from character to character if the person with the highest mod is always going to roll? I get that that success feels good, but failures are what make the adventure more interesting. Just, a thought. Also a high mod doesn’t guarantee a success if the dice gods don’t want to give you any luck, so. Y’know. Just a personal response to one of my players going “ugh, I could’ve made the check, I have a high mod” after the party lead failed the check. I get that understand they want to be useful, but I asked specifically for the party lead to make the roll. Not them. Sorry, just a tad peeved about that. 

On the plus side, I’ve personally gotten more comfy with roleplaying, something I never did in my other campaigns as a player. I think it really does have something to do with the people I’m playing with. My old group consisted of my now ex-boyfriend and his friends, who I was introduced to via dnd. In hindsight I feel like I was really just nervous and took my unfamiliarity with the group as an excuse not to role play, and I’m sure his friends were smart enough to separate character from player, but it really did worry me more than a bit. The group I’m dming now consists of people who’ve known me for somewhere between two to six years. They’ve seen me in class, run clubs, interacting with others, and a variety of my emotions and how I act at with different levels of stress. They have no reason to see my role playing/actions as a reflection of me. They know how I am, so it made role play so much more fun to do because I could really jut let myself go at it.

I was talking to one of my more experienced players after the session to kind of obsess about the variety of dnd subclasses. The conversation shifted around a bit, and we decided we’d go for a shits and giggles one shot with ninth level characters just so we could get into some really strange shenanigans. We also figured we should do a campaign of just kobolds, partially to spite my very stats focused ex who never let me play a kobold. So. I’m pretty excited about that. Also we might want a smaller group. We both acknowledged that seven people is a few too many for a campaign balanced for four people. So. Something for me to keep in mind for the future. 

All in all though, I think I’m getting more comfy with dming/roleplay, and I look forward to the next session.

[stelliferia]

I ran an intro to dnd combat for some friends today. Did not help that I’m not only a first time dm, but also there were 7 people, 5 of which first time players. Was definitely chaotic, though I think it went well. Official campaign starts in a few days, will post more updates as I go.

Also got to use a dragon breath weapon against most of the party. The poor wizard failed the throw and was knocked unconscious. Was very quickly healed though.

[stelliferia]

Very rough drawing, but I have acquired a winged cat in my content d&d campaign! She’s functionally not capable of doing anything, because she’s not a familiar, but we are all okay with that because her job is to sit around and look cute. I named her Purrsephone (purr for the pun, but for all intents and purrposes, she’s Persephone)

I wanted to draw a more slender, elegant cat to match with my character (see Gwynn Alavara,) but I just really wanted to draw a fluffy, squishy looking cat

[stelliferia]

New dnd campaign means a new character! Gwynn Alavara, the Aasimar Celestial Warlock, at your service

Here’s the art I use for my character token, I got lazy with the shading because it’s barely visible on Roll20. Still pretty happy with how she turned out though. Haven’t had a chance to add her incorporeal wings though, since that’s a thing she’s had since third level

Also I’m pretty sure the amount of healing she has is busted. As an Aasimar she has healing hands, which is one charge of hp equal to her level, and healing light from a celestial warlock, which is a pool of 1d6 which is 1 + her level, both of these are bonus action healing too. And also her spell slots for cure wounds. It’s hilarious how heal-heavy she is

My boyfriend tried to talk me out of making another support character. So far I’ve made a tempest cleric (who became the healer by default,) a bard, and now this warlock. My boyfriend is certain I’ll get sick of playing healers, but uh, no. I will only stop playing support when there’s no more support classes for me to play. I will play support out of spite and also because not a lot of people like playing support in my group and I actually like support

[stelliferia]

I wish to dig holes in my backyard

[stelliferia]

I’ve been playing my first dnd campaign for a little while now, and it’s probably about time to make my character some art. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to draw dwarves. Or armour. So we’ll see how that goes.

[stelliferia]

Update: we’re starting a new campaign, and I never got to draw my dwarf tempest cleric because I cannot draw dwarves. But now I have a pretty half elf bard I can play! And she has art now!

[stelliferia]

My half-elf bard who I have yet to name (currently open to suggestions)! I started drawing her to get some inspiration for her personality and such, and here we are. She’s in her performer’s clothes.

Now my concern is if I can play her. I lack the confidence to match her charisma. So we shall see how that goes.

Also. Hands. I gave up on the hands. Hands are hard and were not worth the effort, especially if it ends up being used as a tiny character token on roll20.

I added a few barely visible details too. She has a dangly earring and a stud in just the one ear, and wears a small red ribbon that kind of blends in with her hair. Her left brow is slightly raised, and her lyre has only nine strings as opposed to the more traditional ten.

[stelliferia]

My god this blog is a mess... most of my reblogs have been moved to my side blog. I’m tagging my art as stelliferiarts, and text posts as stelliramblings. I just really don’t want to get rid of some posts, so imma just leave them be

[stelliferia]

I’ve been playing my first dnd campaign for a little while now, and it’s probably about time to make my character some art. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to draw dwarves. Or armour. So we’ll see how that goes.