D&D Campaign Art Dump - An attempt at a Hobby

Between the time of when this post and the last post, and the time between the last post and the post before that. I have been rotating several projects out of and added to the [unfinished project] pile from the different content I have been consuming. Juggling them around in a solo game of hot potato, both expecting and dreading another one tossed in the mix.

After announcements of an animated adaptation of a long-followed series, revisiting series I have temporarily fallen out of love with, and getting into series I have been distancing with a ten foot pole for precisely the situation I have stated above. It has been overwhelming to say the least. And a strange miracle/curse to have the attention span to sit through a new series, (as a later post would attest, a REALLY long and extensive series) and directing that attention to a project with a varied degree of blatant inspiration/copying.

One of these new series I will discuss and for the purpose of this post, focus on, is Dungeons and Dragon. My first exposure to the behemoth of a franchise outside of cultural zeitgeist is from the hype around Buldur's Gate 3. To be candid, I have only recently picked up the game this year; having kept my distance out of intimidation and unfamiliarity of the genre.

Still, it took a little push from reading Dungeon Meshi (haven't watched the anime yet), for me to brave myself and test out the waters, rather than the little toe dips of browsing contents similar/related to D&D. And what is a good way to get into a new piece of media than making OCs and lores using the source material as a guideline? Which actually works in this particular case. No less from my soft spot for fantasy fictions and most definitely my hyperfixations of reptilea, translating itself to dragons, and dragon adjacent creatures.

So around the time of Buldur's Gate 3's release, I came up with a character to help learn about the different races within the material. Then when I learn about homebrew campaigns before I even know what a homebrew is, I drafted another character that, metaphorically, pushed the boulder into the chasm. And before long, it was a process of purely self-indulgent character making and minor worldbuilding.

It never left the draft phase though.

Aside from the first character I made, a gremlin kobold rogue. Having just enough investment to draw a Character sheet for them. Everything that came after of character concepts or lore or worldbuilding, never left the drafting phase in the forms of walls and walls of paragraphs. Then not long after, just like many before, I moved on to another project and other contents.

But while it remained a wall of messy and grammatically atrocious notes, like so, so, SO, many projects inspired and modeled after the media I consume; it never left and stayed around for me to revisit.

So after a year or so, and into the current time of this post. With encouragement and a boosted sense of enthusiasm from related contents. I took a dive with more fervor and commitment. Sticking with it long enough to draft a homebrew setting and an overly ambitious party for the purpose of a solo campaign, taking on the placeholder name of a nonexisting story for my first D&D characters called,

Into the Stronghold

In summary. The story follows a ragtag band of prisoners, each with their own goals and reasons aboard a mobile fortess, merely sticking together out of convenience and a shared goal to escape.

A simple plotline for baby's first campaign. But boy did it spiraled out of hand. And this is speaking from a newbie whose knowledge of D&D and TTRPG as a whole is practically skirting beginner's level. So apologizes if it is either overestimated or underestimated in scope.

As the summary had stated, the campaign takes place aboard the titular stronghold, a mobile fortress called The Gallipoli. Think Howl's moving castle of Howl's Moving Castle. The fortress itself is on a course/mission in the isolated island of Terragona - The land of the Dormant Dragon.

A location I used as the basis and background of several character's backstories, and motivations that initiates/pushes both the campaign/plot forward.

From here, it will be a long exposition dump on the lore of the setting before it transitions to the characters, then connected back to the main plot of the campaign. So feel free to skip to the preferred sections highlighted with a bold indicator.

Land of the Dormant Dragon - Terragona

An island separate from the Mainland world by a large crater. Named from its resemblance to a nesting Dragon with spread wings that crashed onto the earth. Although it isn't out of speculation that the land is really an ancient dragon laid to slumber, as evident by the strange effects it has on the inhabitants, simply called 'the influence of the land'.

Causing those migrated to Terragona to begin developing hard calluses and cartilage around the body like scales; slowing warping their physical features into resembling that of a reptile. Taking hold of a person when stepping foot on Terragona and can be excelerated by eating food and drinking water sourced from the land.

The process never seemed to reach a conclusion as before the person can complete the metamorphosis; their body, composing the physique of both their race and that of a full-blood dragon, collapse under the incampatible changes.

Because of this indiscriminate phenomenon, affecting even those holding affinity to dragons. Those native to the land, either through descendants of the first settlers or those born in Terragona, faired no better. Though more accostumed to the changes and are able to live much longer on the land from that factor. The Native Terragonians still makes up the bulk of the mortality rate from the land's effects.

Instead, native Terragonians are a minority to the immigrants and refugees that forms Terragona's population. Many seeked shelter and sanctuary from the Mainland whose caution of Terragona left it a disorganized and lawless land with no hierarchy or leadership.

Plagued by crime and lacking any repercussions other than vigilante justice, with taboo practices of necromancy and unethical experimentation lacking ethical boundaries. It was more of surprise of WHEN the mainland authorities decided to step in to cull and cleanse the land.

Gallipoli

Sending a military force to establish an authority presence and specialists to tend to the phenomenon that resulted in Terragona's anarchistic state. A crusade in all but name, operating from a mobile fortress as a means to reach the land, and deter its influence through distance.

However, despite and because of their intentions. It did more harm in disrupting the established sturcture of the land - an extremely destructive structure, but one accustomed to the locals and favored by the people seeking residence in Terragona. Their mission to establish authority in a place with its own developed laws and seek a cure/explanation to the detrimental effects of the land; an already common goal pursued long before the military's arrival, in crude lengths the military would take themselves and further past what is barely tolerated in the context.

With zeal expected from a military body. It didn't take long for both legitimate criminals and people protesting against the Mainland's presence to be persecuted on equal grounds; i.e. and for the sake of the campaign, apprehended and taken aboard the Gallipoli. Stripped of anything that may pose a threat of violence or escape and crammed into a cold dungeon fixed in the lower deck of the fortress. Awaiting their trial and sentence when the fortress returns to the Mainland, or as leaked by a whistleblower - used as subject fodder in their experiments to study and cure 'the influence of the land'.

And thus the basis for the Campaign's story and the convenient gathering of the main cast is formed.

Main Party/Cast

Now onto the my personally favorite part. Talking about the characters, with accompanying visuals!

A ragtag band of prisoners aboard the Gallipoli. Apprehended and detained on charges of varying degrees of plausibility. Each with a personal agenda for their presences on the foretress, but nonetheless want to escape their imprisonment.

Caught up in the excitment and zoned in on the story, the ensamble cast that will be the main focus of the campaign has bloated its capacity into a party of seven [7] dysfunctional members. Each of them based on a specific 'thing' that popped up in my mind during the brainstorming process, and are given varying degrees of involvement and attention in the story before it even began.

While there isn't any profile art for the characters. I was able to make a progression sheet of their outfits to use as reference for benefit of the story, and to accompany their descriptions below. Starting in the order of their creation and finalized characterization;

Nikolo - Kobold Rogue

Based on the image of a french protester parrying a gas cannister. Nikolo is a kobold Rogue wielding appropriately, an tennis racket enchanted with the ability to deflect magic. An adrenaline junkie who camps out at riot sites in the case violence breaks out. Nikolo was arrested alongside several protesters and taken aboard the Gallipoli. Sequesterd and chained up due to his unruly behavior, Nikolo waits in prayer for a prison riot to indulge his violent streak.

Septimus - Fungal/Myconoid Warlock

A fungal or with some guidance given from the D&D subreddit at the time I drafted his concept, a myconoid warlock. The setting aboard the ancient fortress gives an additional flavor of power in his spore-infested Eldritch blast. A preacher and servant to an unknown 'greater force'. Claiming it had granted the once expansive network of fungi consciousness, and the capability to prop itself a humanoid guise using moldy clothes. Taken aboard the Gallipoli when Septimus was about to be arrested, 'disappearing' and leaving only his clothes behind.

To his luck, the clothes were taken and placed in the lost and found. Now waiting to give any unfortunate souls a nasty surprise when they put on the spore-infested clothes.

Elise & Edgar - Human Druid & Raven Familiar A human druid and her raven familiar. Taken from a story project I had to better flush out her character in a different setting, and because I like drawing her design. Skilled primarily in illusionary magic while dabbling with spells evokotive of necromancy.

Found in the maximum security wing of the prison cellar with little explanation given. Elise offers the role of a healer in the main party in exchange for breaking her out of containment and allowing her to tag along. Bonded with her raven through the glass eye embeded in the other, the proximity between them determines the effectiveness of Elise's offensive and defensive output.

Turch - Dragonborn Barbarian

A dragonborn barbarian with a proficiency in necromancy, learned out of necessity when his body became a vessel of ravenous spirits. Out of a simple concept of a Barbaric worrior able to keep fighting on past the limit of their deteriorating body.

Heavily chained and kept isolated within the maximum security ward. A modified guard permanently affixed on his snout to starve him to death or risk tearing off his jaw, a blessing in disguise to the benefit of Turch, when it concerns the condition of his possessed state. Able to personally brute force his way past obstacles or by way of reanimating dead limbs of his victims to do his biddings. All in pursuit of a single goal of revenge.

Cypress - Tiefling Ranger

A modified (cyborg?) tiefling ranger, or in the setting of the campaign a corpsefolk; infernal creatures born out of a corpse in an area with high mortality rate. Another concept lifted from another project's lore with a nice juxtapose of a cybernetic nature dweller.

One of the early members to be recruited as a prisoner in the adjacent cell. Cypress is used as a means to push the story into motion by proposing a jail break. Seemingly aware of the history and layout of the fortress, Cypress is well within a familiar terrain to make use of his skillsets, having an odd proficiency in stealth and short blade despite preferring a non-lethal hook to navigate the fortress.

Castello and Memphis - Woof Elf Rogue & Sentient Stick

A proud wood elf rogue with a flair of showmanship and a stick he is oddly attached to and seeks approval and validations from. Made as a way to tie the campaign and its setting to the World Tree, a madatory staple in any story project I have/create.

Although Castello became more of his own character with the stick element slowly fading out but not discarded (yet, probably). An elf wanting to achieve immortality in the form of a lasting legacy, his imprisonment aboard the Gallipoli is nothing short of a godsent. Now needing to retrieve his equipment of throwing knives and a crossbow, and his stick.

Cristo Bello - Human Bard

A human bard and a rather philosophical dreamer in search of a purpose in life. Based on two pieces of literature; The Count of Monte Cristo, where he got his name and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho which Cristo's personality and character arc alludes to - a shepherd who set off on a journey to find a mcguffin after a prophetic dream.

In Cristo's case, he dreamt of a large tree that looms over the world with its foliage. Now in search of the tree, Cristo's journey took him to Terragona. Arrested simply for being near a riot site. Cristo wants nothing more than to clear his name and return to his original path in search of the 'World Tree'. Finding himself an unwilling accomplice to the party who decided to break out of prison and escape.

Capping this off with a height chart of all the characters,

Originally a set of characters I would use in the case of a group D&D game if it ever comes up. I ended reserving them for a solo campaign. Then the longer I went about smoothing the details of the setting, the goals and quests needed to advance the story, the oppositions that would be faced and fun elements that could reasonably fit in the story for my personal pleasure.

What was meant to be a solo campaign became a story with leeway to fit into other mediums outside of a TTRPG setting. All out of attachments and time mulling over how to make a satisfying story for the individual characters and their placement in the ending of the overarcing story, a.k.a. the main campaign.

I love the characters, and all the interactions I picture them in to polish their individual voices and characters.

Like these moments both in and out of the main narrative,

Miscellanous Snippets

Stealth Hiccup

New Possibilities

Needless to say, it spiraled out of hand. Not so much that it isn't suitable for a D&D campaign, just with the amount of potential in other mediums, and a natural urgency to tell the story outside of floating thought bubbles bouncing in my head. Leading it to the next step of the cycle as another unfinished project that goes into the pile.

That is not mentioning how in the middle of it, I stepped back and decide it would be better to make a SEPARATE one-shot campaign, made with a smaller cast of five [5] characters in a more streamlined plot for convenience. I am mentioning this now because it ended up as a prequel to the original Into the Stronghold campaign, adding more mess onto the already cluttered junkpile that it is.

Diverting enough attention for me to doodle some art in relations to the one-shot's plot, itself a major piece of worldbuilding in the larger context of the Solo campaign. Like these,

[And a little last second warning for non-explicit nudity of a character I used to practice anatomy. The result of it is used as accompanying visuals to a blurb of the setting's worldbuilding.]

With all said and done. I loved every single bit of it and how much more I was able to do and how it gave me more reasons ro indulge in an obssession of mine for observing and catching lizards and anoles. And by the time of this post, I have moved on to another project in correlations to my exposure to a new series after. But not before making enough ground work to return to it and continue on where I left off.

As aside from the artworks made and outlines just vague enough to insert other details and shinanigans for my amusement. I have used the story as practice to return to writing stories. With the first part of the prologue finished and ready to view for you leisure after this post.

So with a heavy heart of hope and doubt in what comes after next. I hope when I return to the project again, I will be able to show off some of the process in a future post.

Thank you for reaching to the end, here's some encouragement doodles I made during some low points inbetween me working on the campaign.

Sorry for the poor quality of the image.