Character Codex Round 8 - Elf Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue

April 16, 2014 Than Gibson

Welcome to another week of the Character Codex, where I'm drawing my way through all 77 race/class combinations in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Core Rulebook, giving each one a Chronicle twist.

As always, you can check out the whole Character Codex Gallery and pick up some free Virtual Tabletop Tokens.

Now, onto this week's characters!

First up is the Elf Paladin. Sticking with the traditional Japanese theme that I've been working with, I felt that elven paladins would very much mirror the samurai of feudal Japan. They adhere to a strict warrior code of honor all in the service of their lord, in the case of these paladins, the goddess Belagaea. Belagaea's paladins protect the wild like her druids and rangers do. But, they also are tasked to aid the temples and keep the peace of nature.

This particular paladin is a Celasyn. Her tight hair bun and composure are signs of a more civilized upbringing. Sasyn paladins are rare, but not unheard of. They tend to be a bit more rough around the edges and are seen as a bit of an oddity.

I wanted the paladin to reflect the elf cleric's robes of green and yellow while at the same time being able to wade into battle. Her samurai-styled armor is made of magically hardened wood called Ironwood. I went with a basic katana for her sword, but I would change that up to an elven longsword for some flavor if I were to redo it.

Second, we have the Elf Ranger. This is Jade, a Celasyn ranger who spends most of his time in the deep woods hunting lizardfolk. His green hair is a trademark of his family, House Comet. House Comet is known for producing only the most elite of rangers. Somewhere in House Comet's past a minor curse was placed on them that they would always stick out by having unusual hair color. No one in house Comet has a "traditional" elven hair color.

Jade's bow is a powerful magical weapon with an elven name that translates roughly to "Mother's Tears." It is recognized by the blindfolded, winged, elf whose neck the bowstring ties around.

Jade's protege is Lex, the Elf Rogue below. His serious demeanor is often a counterpoint to her lively ways. Both of these characters were to be part of the cast of the original Chronicle comic book series.

Finally, we come to the Elf Rogue. This Lex, a Sasyn elf girl who partners with Jade the Elf Ranger. Lex is a counterbalance to Jade with her free spirit and feisty attitude. She prefers the rogue skill set to the ranger skill set, though she has become quite good with a bow. She would rather be the stealthy scout than the noble hunter.

Her signature two-tone wild hair possibly comes from her human maternal grandfather (technically making her 3/4 elf) who may have had a bit of sorcery in his blood. She wears the same leather wrapping "breeches" as the previously seen elf barbarian and druid.

Lex made one appearance in issue #0 of the original Chronicle comic book, however she was to be a main character of the series. I hope to some day revisit her and Jade.

Character Codex Round 6 - Elf Cleric and Elf Druid

April 2, 2014 Than Gibson

Here we are again, drawing our way through all 77 combinations of races and classes in the Pathfinder RPG/d20 core rules!

Elf month continues here at Chronicle!

This week we have the Elf Cleric and the Elf Druid. If you want to see everything so far, check out the Character Codex Gallery. Also, for you Virtual Tabletop users, we have free downloadable tokens available!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the comic where our resident elf sorceress, Elysia, begins to investigate the Slumripper's Dagger.

Now onto the characters!

First up is the Elf Cleric. In many ways the Celasyn elves remind me of Japan during the Warring Kingdoms period. There is a monarch who is mostly a figurehead, rival houses vying for the true power, a growing trade with outsiders who are not completely to be trusted, and a fear that they are losing their cultural identity due to these outsiders. To push that a bit further I designed this cleric of Belagaea to look like a Shinto priestess. Her ceremonial robes are covered by her banded mail breastplate. All of this is colored green and yellow, the colors of Belagaea. All clerics of Belagaea are trained in Belagaea's favored weapon, the longbow. To allow for mobility when drawing the bow, the sleeves can be untied at the top and her arm can be pulled free. The sleeves are actually only stitched to the robe at the bottom to create a hinge. For the bow's design I went with the asymmetrical yumi or japanese longbow.

The Elf Druid is a Saysyn from the Panther Clan. I wanted him to seem almost feral and so the drawing has a bit more of a sketchy feel than this style has had with the past couple of drawings. Here he's invoking his totem animal, perhaps as a precursor to wildshaping into a large panther and pouncing on some hostile intruder into the Old Wood. The breeches are really nothing more than braided straps of leather. You can see a similar design on the Elf Barbarian. Since this guy's a bit more of a wild one, his breeches aren't as neatly wrapped. For his staff, I went with a smaller stick rather than the usual carved branch. Something this size can be wielded at quick speeds and still deliver a devastating blow if the defender is caught off guard. I feel like that's a bit more in keeping with his style.

Character Codex Round 5 - Elf Barbarian and Elf Bard

March 26, 2014 Than Gibson

Here we are with another round of the Character Codex!

In case you're new here, this is what's going on. I'm working my way through every race and class combination in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. You can see the Dwarves over at the Character Codex Gallery. There are also Virtual Tabletop Tokens if you want to use them in the virtual tabletop of your choice.

It's the Month of Elves here at Chronicle and we're kicking it off with the Elf Barbarian and Elf Bard. I'm trying something different with the elves. I picked up the Frenden Wash Brushes awhile back and thought I'd break them out for the elves. It's an experiment but I'm digging it so far. As we move forward, let me know what you think in the comments.

So up first is the female Elf Barbarian. She's a Saysyn from the Crow Clan. I gave her a glaive and some basic leather riding armor because I can see her riding atop a Dire Raven that she's trained. She can use the glaive as either a makeshift lance while riding her Dire Raven or to slash at opponents from a distance.

I am SUPER pleased with how this turned out. Tony DiTerlizzi is one of my favorite artists and I think I may have "touched the hem of his robe" here.

Up next is the Elf Bard. He's a Celasyn and has been travelling the world performing as a stage magician. This is actually a preliminary design for a character we'll meet later this year in the comic, so I don't want to talk about him too much just yet, but I love the idea of a stage magician trying to get by in a world where magic is so commonplace.

I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this design. So he will probably look different when he shows up in the comic. But, for now, I think he fits the bill.

That's it for this week! Check back next week for the Elf Cleric and the Elf Druid! Also, make sure to come back tomorrow for New Strip Thursday over at the Chronicle Comic!

As always, if you like what you see here, please share or re-tweet it with your friends on social media. Leave me some comments and feedback. Finally, if you REALLY like what you see, consider leaving a tip in the Tip Jar or picking up a commissioned drawing over in the Artist's Shop.

See you tomorrow!

THAN

Character Codex Round 5 - Dwarf Sorcerer Dwarf Wizard

March 19, 2014 Than Gibson

Here we go with Round 5 of the Character Codex! This will finish off the dwarves. If you've missed any, check out the Character Codex Gallery. Next week we will start with a female Elf Barbarian and a Male Elf Bard.

Speaking of elves, make sure to check out the latest comic where we introduce Elysia, our first elf character. Also, make sure to have a look at the World of Chronicle entry for the Celesyn, or high elves of Chronicle. Next week's entry will be for the Saesyn, or wild elves.

Also in the World of Chronicle section, you will see our Virtual Tabletop Token Gallery. This week all 11 dwarf classes are in there. Next week, we'll rotate out and start adding in the elves.

Finally, come back tomorrow for a new strip as we begin to investigate exactly what happened in Autumn's encounter with the Slumripper.

All right, here we go.

For the Dwarf Wizard, I wanted to still show that no-nonsense style of the dwarves, but I also wanted to give this guy some power. He's a high-level guy but he keeps his robes fairly modest, save for all the enchantments!

This is our first look at the wizards of Chronicle. We'll be exploring a lot more of the Brotherhood of the Threefold Path, the organization most wizards in Chronicle belong to, later. For now, this wizard is a member of the Grey Order, an order within the Brotherhood dedicated to magical research and observation.

First up is the dwarf sorcerer. I wanted to show a distinction here between sorcerers and wizards. Sorcerers in Chronicle can be anybody. You don't have to be of a special family, have great wealth, or be well-educated. Literally anybody can be born with the talent to tap into the natural energies of magic. I wanted to draw her as being "down to earth" and what better way in work clothes and moving earth. The dwarves of Jaxstein use magic like this to carve out the terraces they use for farming in the mountain valleys. This dwarf may just be one of those terraformers.

So, there you have it! 11 dwarves down, 66 adventurers to go. See you next week with the elves!

Character Codex Round 4 - Dwarf Ranger and Dwarf Rogue

March 12, 2014 Than Gibson

Welcome to Round 4 of the Character Codex! If you're new here, the idea is simple: I'm going to illustrate all 77 race/class combinations from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. These are also the "traditional" races and classes you'll find in Dungeons & Dragons. You can see everything so far in the Character Codex Gallery.

Before we get to the characters this week, I want to mention a couple of things we have going on here at Chronicle. First, in conjunction with the Character Codex, there are now Virtual Tabletop Tokens of each of the Character Codex characters available for free download and use on Roll20 or any other virtual tabletop program.

Second, if you like the artwork you see here each week, you should enter the Name That Rogue contest! It's a chance to have a FREE full-color character drawing done by your request. So far, no one has named all 25 characters, so the chances are still good!

Lastly, don't forget to come back tomorrow for the latest Chronicle strip. We introduce a new character in this week's strip! Now on to the characters!

The first character this week is the female Dwarf Ranger. She's an all-around explorer. Many of the rangers in Chronicle tend to wander the mountain valleys around Jaxstein, the great dwarven vale. This is reflected in her climbing gear, but she's got a wanderer's spirit and is willing to go wherever she needs to go.

The second character this week is the male Dwarf Rogue. I wanted the dwarf rogue to show off his trapfinding and device disabling skills. In the process of drawing a locksmith, this guy changed his mind and said, "Nope. I want to blow stuff up." So, yeah, he looks like a certain buster of myths! I had a BLAST drawing him! (sorry, no more puns.)

Note the wrench built into the pommel of his shortsword. I imagine that as a shortsword that gives +2 to Disable Device or Profession (Engineering) checks. Oh and, yeah, the scabbard and strap are made of duct tape.

So, that's it for this week. Next week, we have a MAGICAL week with the final two dwarves, the sorcerer and the wizard. (Okay, so I lied.)

As always, if you like what you see here, Like, Share and Re-Tweet on social media. Or, even better, click an ad, leave a tip, or buy a commission!

See you next week!

THAN