[C] Tass and Tyz by BrenZan on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

"I would like a piece featuring two characters.

Character 1! Tass the kobold would be the centerpiece. He is the most important part of all this. Tass is the kobold druid I am playing in this D&D 5e campaign, and he's great, and I love him! Haha. Tass is a level 8 druid, of the Circle of the Moon.

Physically, Tass is a 2 foot 5 inch kobold. He weighs 28 pounds without his gear. He's thin, wiry, and naturally very dexterous and fleet of foot. In contrast, he is quite physically weak. Thus he's fond of walking sticks, or being carried on his companions' shoulders. He's 24 years old; kobolds often die pretty young by human standards, though they can live over 100 if they're super lucky to not be worked to death by their draconic (or other) masters by then.

Now, clothes and gear. In one hand, he'd be holding or even leaning a little bit on a magic item called the Spear of the Forest Dragon. It's a pretty rad item, as it lets him do more druidy and dragony things, but I digress. Description: A spear made from dragon bone. A patch of dragon skin and scales is wrapped around part of the haft and hanging just under the blade. This works as a +1 magical spear that deals an additional 1d8 poison damage...(description continues). The point of the weapon is a tooth, and it's fastened to the shaft of the spear with a green dragon's scaly skin like a ribbon or something. Whether the shaft is bone or wood is up in the air; I suppose whatever you think.

Teeeechnically Tass wears studded leather armor and has a wooden shield, but I don't love that. Tass is a primitive dude, as I will describe later, and I wouldn't want him to look like he's decked out in armor like a suave rogue about to ambush someone on a dangerous mission. Nor would I want him to have his shield in one hand. Maybe his primitive wooden shield would be stowed on his little pack, maybe it wouldn't be there at all. Anyway, he's used to living alone in the woods as a hermit, so I always imagined him as having bare minimum ragged traveling clothing. Definitely dirty bare feet. If you wanted to draw him in such a way that it's not obvious he's armored, that'd be cool. Or if needed, he's simply unarmored here. I'd want him to have the "He must have been wearing those old breeches/shorts for three years straight" look. He's the character that transforms into wild animals that savage enemies, after all.

Other gear, eh. He's got a hunting trap, maybe that'd be hanging off the pack if there's room and it looks good. He doesn't carry a lot of stuff. It's whatever.

Last physical details: he has two faint tattoos or scale markings. These are intended to not be overtly visible at a glance, so if you did not want to include these details, that would be totally fine. If it matters though, on the back of his left hand, he has a mark that glows when in use called the Charm of Dancing Stars. Otherwise it might look like a faint scar or darkening. He can call upon it to become super charismatic and intimidating temporarily. Also, on the side of his tail near the tip, there is a cave painting-like drawing/tattoo. It depicts a few animals walking/running around a moon. Tass usually keeps it covered with a bit of dust or dirt so it's not obvious. It marks him as a friend of the druids of the Circle of the Moon. Maybe the dust has faded for this depiction. Again, not too important.

Mentally, Tass is kinda pathetic and pitiful. At least he started that way in this campaign. Tass began with horrific self-esteem, believing that kobolds are weak, forgettable, and replaceable creatures. The whole reason he is trying to become a great druid is so that he can transform into something that isn't as pathetic as a kobold, the lowest of all races and creatures, if only for a while. After the events of the campaign up to this point though, he now has an uncertain confidence. He's always known he's extraordinary by kobold standards, but now he realizes he is actually a bit of a hero, and is extraordinary by the standards of most any race. Still, he's only now beginning to learn to walk the walk. Plus he recently got a dragonborn party member to agree to go on a date with him! Haha.

Nonetheless, he's pessimistic, and accustomed to a life of toil, brutality, unfairness, and belittlement. He's cowardly and would never want to be caught alone. Despite being a naturalist and druid, he's pretty logical. The ends justify the means. He'd be the first to justify a morally gray course of action that keeps the party focused on the end goal.

By the numbers, Tass is very, very wise, and also quite intelligent. His charisma is atrocious though, almost as bad as his physical strength. This is not the guy you want trying to cheer you up. Random speech excerpt: "Thisss one does not think we have much of a chance. At all. Sssuggest leaving, and maybe trying again later? Maybe."

I know this probably isn't very important for you as an artist but the more context I can provide the better, I would guess.

Okay, still with me? Thanks.

Character 2! Not nearly as important as character 1. Character 2 is Tyzrahel. Tyzrahel is Tass' shadow copy. I'll briefly explain. The party has been adventuring in an alternate plane of existence called the Shadowfell, that's like a mirror world. Most places and people in the real world have a twisted copy in the Shadowfell. Tyzrahel's real name is Tass, because he's Tass' shadow copy. Tyzrahel was a great, terrible, and wicked dragon serving a powerful dragonborn that he cared for deeply. He is a dragon due to powerful magic that made him this way. In many ways, he had and was everything (real) Tass ever wanted. They share a dislike for kobolds, and a love for dragons. After a recent climactic fight, during which our heroes fought against these two (and someone else), we triumphed. After some magical things happened that I don't need to go into, Tyzrahel became at the party's mercy. For reasons we don't quite fully understand yet, he has been transformed from a majestic dragon into a humble, small dragon. He's approximately Tass' size, though of course he's a quadrupedal dragon.

Tyzrahel is technically in the form of a Green Shadow Dragon Wyrmling (baby dragon).

I suppose I would advise looking at the differences between adults and wyrmlings for some of the other official D&D dragons (red, blue, black, copper, bronze -- etc.) to see how to depict that thing in wyrmling form, because I do not believe a better reference exists. Anyway, I would not want Tyzrahel to look like the horrifying, eldritch, mindless horror that that image implies. He is small, vulnerable, and feeling very lost after his transformation. Probably like a dog that has been abandoned by its owner. He has been turned from his terrible dragon self into this weak little thing. He thought he'd never have to go back to being something pathetic like a kobold, and yet here he is. Against all expectations, he's traveling with the party for the moment, as they sort out how to save and redeem Tyzrahel's master, which is why he agreed to travel with them. Also, I think it's important to keep in mind that Tyzrahel is Tass' shadow self. If there could be some interesting visual similarities, that would be ideal. He's not supposed to look exactly like a kobold -- he's a dragon after all no matter what size he is -- but whatever cool things you could put in to reflect this would be ideal.

The background. Almost there!

The background is honestly pretty uninteresting, and the least important part I would think. The Shadowfell is a really drab place. The sky is ashy, gray clouds, always. There are distant dull mountain silhouettes. Flat landscape or rolling hills; it's whatever. This place isn't colorless or grayscale, but it's muted, depressing, and nothing like the vibrancy of the real world. This scene in particular however occurs in a field of flowers. Tyzrahel wanted to go here because it reminds him of his master, who liked them. These flowers are called fluffernutters. They look like white amaryllis, in real life.

The difference is that because they're in the Shadowfell, the colors fade to a cloudy gray. The stem is likewise gray. Maybe a bit of color to help them pop? I dunno.

Background's pretty boring and not too important. If it were just shadowy gray colors, with some blotches of white, hey I'd be cool with that.

Lastly, the scene.

The party barely knows Tyzrahel and only just learned his origin story that I described above. It's up in the air if he's going to be traveling with us. Tyzrahel has requested some time alone in a nearby small field/meadow of fluffernutters. How big, up to you. Tass figured he should probably go with Tyz, if only to comfort him, or make sure he isn't escaping or something. Tyz has curled up, like a cat or dog I suppose, head tucked in among his tail. Tass cautiously approached, asked if he could sit with Tyz (respecting how he used to be a mighty dragon), and was given uncertain approval.

A conversation of a few minutes ensued. Basically Tyz explained uncertainly that he only wants his master to be okay, to save her. She's his everything. Tass explained that the party is going to work on figuring things out, and one of their goals would be to set things right and save this person. Tyz doesn't fully trust Tass or the party, but, he realizes they are copies of each other, so that's gotta count for something. Tyz asks how Tass became so strong (implication being that he's just a kobold, like Tyz used to be). Tass has replied that it was lot of hard work, and a stupid dream. Tyz, feeling lost and alone, wonders aloud if maybe one day he could dream too.

Tass considers this. He considers the things he's learned in his long journey so far, the confidence he's gained, the realization that even if he's a kobold he can do great things. Anyone can. He feels responsible for Tyz. He wants to know Tyz better, being his copy, his self with a twist, a kobold who became a mighty dragon and practically ruled a realm.

Finally, Tass responds to Tyz that he's not sure if the party will be successful, that he doesn't know if Tyz can ever be restored to a great dragon again, and that the future of this brutal world is always uncertain. But he's hoping they can find something to inspire Tyz. Inspire in him a dream. He wants to know Tyz, and for Tyz to have a dream and be his own person.

That.

That is the moment I want to capture.

Tass is probably standing up, symbolically offering his free hand to Tyzrahel, or gesturing him tentatively to 'come on'. Tass doesn't have all the answers, and he's only recently come into a semblance of confidence, charisma. Tyz is probably uncertain, curled up a bit still or on all fours, questioning. Maybe trying to look fierce but obviously out of his element and wondering how of all people this pathetic kobold is inspiring him to join him. They're an odd pair of reflections, spots of color and life in this drab world, in a field of white flowers. This is the beginning of a partnership that will probably stretch the rest of the campaign."