@mogruith tagged me in another WIP game.
It was a few days ago, but I love these things because it gives me a chance to slip out the things I sit on for long periods of time into the wild a little early.
An art and a design thoughts, because I've been poking at a few things behind the scenes.
A character design I've been sitting on for like a month now, because I need to create a second part of the design (Of which I do not have a bloody fucking idea of the direction I want to go for even in theory)
The character is Enclave's Mentor for her role as a Masked Traitor, specifically within Vhaeraun's church. Enclave was trained as a spy for Lolths church at a young age, but in my heart Vhaeraun and his Chuch have different expectations, prioritizations, and modes of operating for why they're spying. And that's where this character comes in.
With the Traitor design, I want to play with the concept of someone "hiding in plain sight." You know. Masks don't just exist for Vhaeraun, and the idea of a performer hiding their face is not anything new. As such, I want a lot of things in their design to exist with double meaning. The mask being decorated for Lolth, but existing for Vhaeraun. Vhaeraun and Lolth sharing Black Sapphire for their gems, and so they wear that. Ect, ect...
I want to play with the lives courtesans and entertainers historically have lived, paradoxically gaining freedoms a culture generally would not give and heavy expectations, restraints, and responsibilities as a result of doing so. I want to play into the sandbox of what I think that would look like for Lolth-worshiping cultures. (Admittedly, this one doesn't come from anything canon in the books, this is strictly my own brain turning over what I know happens in a lot of real world cultures.)
They're from Guallidurth, and their performances are held in a temple, and equal parts religious ceremony as they are public ceremony, supposedly dedicating it to Lolth. However, when operating strictly within the community of Vhaeraun's church they're a more typical artisan. Being from Guallidurth, the bulk of their experience is in temple architecture.
Main thing I'm not yet happy with when it comes to this part of the design - I think it needs more details on it. While I'm happy with the very restraining dress, they're a performer, so maybe they should have a lot of ornamentation. But I'm still trying to figure out how to implement it... Maybe add an instrument directly to it? More jewelry?
