All of my PCs from the ttrpgs I've played in this year! They are getting on a plane and they are going somewhere warmer and calmer. If you see them waiting at your gate it is very important that you do not board that flight.
I feel so grateful and fortunate to have as many awesome table top friends as I do, and I cannot wait to see what we all get into together in 2026!
The Characters - starting from Bottom Left
Saunter - They/Them
The Leech | Blades in the Dark | GM @renaissancebadboy
Red the Cannibal - He/Him
Gith Wizard | Spelljammer PbtA: The Greatest Prize | GM @syntheticmortal
Harper - She/Her
Toreador Alleycat | VtM: São Paulo by Night | GM @klaciate
I wanted to do more with this lil poster but I ran out of time! I will probably revisit this with full color sometime soon, but I do want to put this up before the New Year arrives!
I also like your shadow bug ocs. I'd like to hear more about them :33
@fluffins-doodles
ok ok ok
lore blast go
so the Astrodoptera are from an isolated continent on the planet Cerritulus (the main planet that most things in the Cyanverse take place on). This continent has an extremely high concentration of a mineral that for the past few years I've just been referring to as the "Spirit Mineral" as a placeholder but probably needs an actual name. This has given ✨magic✨ to all the organisms who've colonised it. The power of ✨magic✨ allowed invertebrates to grow past their oxygen limitations and evolve into a range of megafaunal niches. One of these species was able to create a civilisation - these being the Astrodoptera.
About 1000 years before the present day we have King Chekorhokth of the Shadow Kingdom. He takes the throne by murdering his father Thuhshuhkuhtho after enduring years of abuse for having the ability to do necromancy and also being gay (oh and his boyfriend got executed 😔). He straight up reanimates a Triceratops and it gores his dad to death. But problem is that the citizens of the Shadow Kingdom liked the previous King and are also scared of necromancy so they don't like Chekorhothk. Meanwhile a lady called Shothrhoshthok has ascended to leadership position in the Sun Horde, and takes advantage of the weak leadership in the Shadow Kingdom. She kills Chekorhothk and takes over the Shadow Kingdom.
Now, I'm thinking of revamping my ghost lore - a while ago I would've told you that the spirit of Chekorhothk's father prevented him from entering the afterlife. But I'm not sure if I want to go for that explanation in the end - that whole afterlife lore was built around mitigating my own fear of oblivion and I think that made it not as good. Whatever happens, Chekorhothk is stuck as a ghost in the living world and is filled with bitterness. He decides to spend his eternity tormenting the Throne of the Shadow Kingdom.
Over time the history gets corrupted and the story of Chekorhothk gets corrupted into the story of an evil tyrant who is slain by the honourable Shothrhoshthok, and his haunting becomes known as the Royal Curse. Meanwhile, even though during Shothrhoshthok's reign the Shadow Kingdom was considered part of the Sun Horde, over time her descendants began to assimilate with the Shadow Kingdom's culture. Many members of the Sun Horde were not fans of the sedentary lifestyle and soon returned to the steppes, leaving the Shadow Kingdom independent. The ruling dynasty has become actively hostile towards the Sun Horde - the fact that Shothrhoshthok was Sun and not Shadow is conveniently forgotten.
This brings us to the set up of the main story. The Shadow Kingdom is at war with the Cryons (another sophont of Cerritulus - silica-based cold-adapted lifeforms which kind of look like salamanders) over a volcanic island which has appeared close to the Cryons' maritime border but has been found to contain a sizable amount of Spirit Mineral. The Queen at the time, Shulokaskek, does not want the Cryons getting their hands on the Spirit Mineral. Her mental suffering under the Royal Curse leads her to be more unreasonable, and the amount of resources put aside for the war effort results in the Shadow Kingdom going through lean years where there is very little to eat. Rorskth - the wife of Prince Kuhathkasokt, younger brother of the Queen - is pregnant with Yka during this time, and the lack of food stunts Yka's growth as a foetus.
Meanwhile Kuhathkasokt has tried negotiating with Shulokaskek about the war but she wouldn't budge. He decides it is necessary to kill her and take her place as King. He ends the war by simply giving the island over to the Cryons, giving them a good source of Spirit Mineral which they will surely not use for nefarious purposes!!! (although that's a whole other thing)
Because he feels guilty for murdering his sister, Kuhathkasokt tries to become more religious as penance. He ends up having an affair with Rhalkxu, the archbishop of one of the most powerful religious sects on the continent. When Rhalkxu tells him that she is pregnant, Kuhathkasokt slanders her and she is excommunicated and exiled for treason. Rhalkxu has her own mission to take over the continent in service to her own deity, and to this end she makes a deal with Chekorhothk - using magic, she gives him the ability to channel a physical form through mud, in return for service to her. Rhalkxu's child is Ruthrhex, whose blood is used to provide Chekorhothk's tether to the living realm. She is subjected to a lot of religious trauma and builds up a fantastical idea of her father.
Now as Kuhathkasokt is King, the young Koloko is thrust into the position of Prince, which is highly detrimental to him. He is forced to grow up fast and not really afforded a normal childhood. He doesn't really get to explore his own identity for himself. Kuhathkasokt is very emotionally neglectful due to his new duties as King, and being the new victim of the Royal Curse, and also doesn't see what the problem is. Then Yka is born, a barely-alive stunted and sad little thing. Her parents reject her, finding her grotesque, but she is taken in by the Palace Seer, Tkhaha, who foresees that she will be important.
Tkhaha knows that Kuhathkasokt murdered his sister, and Kuhathkasokt knows that he knows and is constantly anxious about when Tkhaha is going to tell everyone. Fortunately for him, Tkhaha has a very interesting style of reasoning where he doesn't do things unless he foresees that he has to do something to keep the timeline going in the 'correct direction'. The right time comes around when Koloko is 16 (there is a very detailed timeline events but it's on my home PC, it also might be out of date because I think it's from when they were still cats). Tkhaha tells Rorskth and Shothkasurho, the younger brother of Kuhathkasokt, what really happened. When they confront him, Kuhathkasokt murders them both in order to stop his secret from getting out. Koloko, disturbed by the loud noises, witnesses this. Kuhathkasokt tucks him back into bed and slits his throat. Tkhaha guides Yka to the scene of the crime. In her grief, her necromancy powers are activated and she brings Koloko back to life. Tkhaha pushes them both to run away from the palace. Kuhathkasokt flees, unable to bear the shame of the atrocities he's committed, and the Shadow Kingdom is left with no ruler. Civil war ensues as the children of Shothkasurho fight over who should take over (their names were Chaos and Sable but I have yet to give them new Astrodopteran names).
So the main story encompasses Koloko and Yka trying to eke out a survival in the midst of this fallen Kingdom. Episodically they have to navigate around a rogues' gallery of bounty hunters who want to collect the bounty placed on Koloko's head by his cousins. They meet Greg during one of these episodes, having been captured by a collector of curios. Greg is a 'normal' cat who has travelled to the Astrodopteran continent after having strange visions of insectoid people. He actually comes from a group of Astrodopterans who left the continent a few centuries ago and used magic to turn themselves into cats in order to blend in with the average Cerritulian. He gets weird bug-based body horror shit happening to him. Ruthrhex joins the squad at some point and Koloko is very mean to her :( at some point Yka comes into contact with Chekorhothk, who sees himself in her. He helps her hone her necromancy, and encourages her to take her revenge on Kuhathkasokt.
There's all sorts of little side plots going on, you can ask if I've brought something up that you want more clarification. There used to be a very detailed and specific climax and ending to this story but I am actually trying to change it so the ending is up in the air for now but it strongly involves Rhalkxu and her deity. What becomes of the Shadow Kingdom in the end is also up in the air and I almost want to leave things open-ended. But things get better with time. The monarchy is abolished, and a new Astral Republic rises. But I'm not sure of the timeline there, it requires more thinking upon.
