Fan Art – Amalee and Skjarn by 324b21

Kris Takahashi Art 3 Comments

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More fan art because really I’ve been swamped and so I haven’t had time to really do much of anything, let alone think of new blog posts. This is what 324b21 refers to as a Manalee – half man, half Amalee, 100% amazing. I’d like to think a male Amalee would be a huge fan of manscaping and of course wandering around with his shirt off.

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No poor lady soul can resist the walking testosterone that is Skjarn…. nobody.

Ha, the beauty of Skjarn is that his boasts are mostly up to your interpretation. Personally, I see him as more of a Zapp Brannigan type figure, but others say his skill in bedroom brawling is unmatched. Or the truth could fall somewhere in between.

Fan Art – Daenlyn Oakhollow by Mouse

Mouse Art 20 Comments

As I said I was working on something and it took me awhile to finish, mainly because this was originally a great big file full of Daenlyn doodles and it took all of my will power just to pick out a few to clean up. I plan to pluck a few more from the collective, but at another time.

Here we have Daenlyn Oakhollow as he appears in my game with a few creative liberties. I put him in Hunter Archer Armor: Robin Hood Variant, which is a great armor mod; wonderful in it’s simplicity. Avishi, my Dragonborn, has really taken to this character. When she rescued him from his Thalmor friends she listened to his story, placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and said, “You’re a bit of a scamp, aren’t you? Come along, skulduggery and shenanigans await.”

Avishi and Daenlyn get along very well. He’s smart, charismatic, open-minded, and most importantly a man of action, which are traits she highly values. He seems to spend a lot of time carefully thinking on what to say next, which is good because he gets hilariously lost in his own similes. Daenlyn is also painfully homesick. So much so that Avishi has a bit of it, longing for sweet Masala chai, night blooming jasmine, and the warm embrace of the desert sun. When they aren’t defending the innocent or plotting some great prank against the Thalmor (which rattled Valgus’ nerves something fierce when he was traveling with them) they’re conversing and debating. Most of which having to do with Bosmers and Valenwood, since he’s very vocal about his culture. Topics like “Why fruit should be exempt from the Green Pact” and “Would you eat my corpse if you had the chance?” come up often. Avishi hasn’t gotten a straight answer from Daenlyn on that last one.

I like Bosmers, I think their cultural background is fascinating, however as a race they’ve been given the short end of the stick. They’re the least confrontational, least intimidating of the elven races; they have large eyes and youthful friendly faces. Some think, “That’s great for a bard like Daenlyn!” And they’d be right. However it’s not great for a gambler, which he also is. Seasoned gamblers are naturally suspicious of innocent faces, even when big scary faces are more likely to cheat.

This is the reason I put Daenlyn in this armor. The hood only shows the lower half of his face. This makes it so others have to focus on what he has to say and his teeth, which are rows of saw like pointed death. This is a creative liberty I take with Bosmers; I don’t know if they actually have pointed teeth. However, those teeth are a simple reminder that, “Hey, that race is known for eating meat. People meat.” With Daenlyn’s eyes hidden that means I get to have the pleasure of making his expressions extra cartoony in order to get his emotions across. My favorite is the blushing pout. <3

Character Profile – Moris the Draugr

Kris Takahashi Character Profiles 3 Comments

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People sometimes tell me Moris sounds too young. It mostly has to do with his dialogue. Moris tells us he’s getting old. He can’t swing Ebony like he used to. I can’t deny this truth. But while Moris implies he’s an older man, that doesn’t mean he should sound feeble. Old doesn’t mean crotchety. Not all old men have punk kids on their lawns and onions on their belt. Because the word old isn’t always reflective of one’s age.

Take sports for example. Ballplayers are considered old if they’re on the wrong side of thirty. Veteran athletes routinely hear people twice their age tell them they’re too old. That they should retire. It’s even worse for tennis players who become old in their mid-twenties, and female gymnasts who can’t even get past puberty – because nature, ever so capricious, robs them of the balance and elasticity required for their sport.

Even in the same field, the effects of time will vary from person to person. A basketball player who depends on his leaping ability will see his value diminish much more quickly than a long range shooter. Similarly, it’s likely a mage or an archer would be a useful party member well into their fifties and sixties, whereas a two-handed warrior would start to feel the effects twenty years prior. The erosion of one’s strength and recovery time can be fatal for someone who fights nose to nose with his enemy.

Of course, there are ways to combat the effects of aging. Some use PEPs (performance enhancing potions, hardy har har). Others use guile. But Moris only knows how to fight one way. The Gods gave him two hands, and he has them both on his weapon, not some sissy stamina potion. And if he did have to cheat – whether through alchemy or magic or making reference to your untied shoes – there isn’t a potion in the world that would recover his pride.

It’s that same pride that keeps him trapped in the walls of the Nightgate Inn, where time has become both his friend and enemy. He thinks he needs it to heal, but every day he gets better his skills get worse. And the truth is, his physical wounds are all but gone – it’s his confidence that has yet to recover.

It probably never will. And that may not be such a bad thing. Moris isn’t an old man, but he is an old warrior. And old warriors, Draugrs in particular, tend not to remain among the living.