#boarfolk

Souls in the Sand: Concept Art

As I’ve mentioned here and there, I’ve spent the last two years developing an original story inspired by a small Origins+Empires server a few friends and I started planning. The more I developed plans for my empire to be a sprawling overgrown cityscape of ruins and stone framework inspired by the nether, the more I built up this backstory for the character I wanted to play, a small deerfolk boy named Esra. From there, and over months of working and reworking the story and its characters, I’m proud to say I’m coming up on a 100 piece gallery for my Masters Exhibition to display this story in the form of a song-inspired comic, titled: Souls in the Sand.

Over the next month and beyond the date of my exhibition in April, I wanted to start sharing my work here! I thought it would be fitting to first share all of the concept work I did for the characters last semester as I took each character from their old lineup and reworked them from scratch to see if there were any designs I could make more unique or appropriate for the story. This process consisted of four stages: silhouettes, full-body mock-ups, face and head shapes/designs, and experimenting with the final characters’ designs with a set of unique expressions that best fit their personalities and narrative role.

Since each character was reworked separately, the “new” concept lineup is a little disjointed (and some of the characters’ faces actually ended up different from their full-body designs), but I thought it would be fun to line them up to compare the overall cast to their old designs. With each character(s) I post the concept process for, I may share little bits of the work I’m doing or talk a little about their narrative roles as I go, but for now, have Esra!

I know I don’t post original work here often, but I wanted to share parts of this journey with you guys because it’s been very meaningful to me! And I hope all of the work I’ve been doing may at the very least serve as a bit of inspiration or encouragement for us to keep making silly minecraft stories, to keep drawing the characters we love, and to keep being creative in whatever way is meaningful! <3

Hello! Here is my latest conversion... a rather simple one, all things considered, this one coming from the Hackmaster tabletop games.

I should add that I got some ideas from the work of the Creature Codex blog, who converted the Pigfolk some time ago.

I hope you will enjoy my conversion, and as always, tell me if there is something I should improve.

BOARFOLK

Image (c) GreyRat48 on DeviantArt

This humanoid creature is tall and well-built, with the head of a wild boar and covered in hirsute, coarse fur.

BOARFOLK                       CR 2

XP 600

CG Medium Humanoid

Init +0; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +3

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15 (+4 natural, +1 shield)

hp 19 (3d8+6)

Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1

Defensive Abilities ferocity

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft.

Melee obsidian machete +5 (1d6+2 / 19-20; fragile) and bite -1 (1d4+1); or bite +4 (1d4+2)

Ranged sling +2 (1d4+2)

Special Attacks hatred (orcs)

STATISTICS

Str 15, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 11, Cha 8

Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 14

Feats Power Attack, Weapon Focus (machete)

Skills Climb +6, Craft (weapons) +6, Knowledge (any one) +8, Perception +3, Profession (any one) +8, Survival +4

Languages Common, Orc

Special Qualities erudite

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate and cold forests

Organization solitary, pair, gang (3-10 plus 1 leader of level 2-4) or village (10-60 plus 1 lieutenant of level 2-4 every 20 individuals, 1 druid/shaman of level 4-6 and 1 chief of level 5-7)

Treasure standard (obsidian machete, sling with 20 bullets, buckler, other treasure)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Erudite (Ex): A boarfolk can choose a single Knowledge skill to always be considered a class skill for him. Boarfolk usually choose Knowledge (engineering) or Knowledge (nature) for this ability.

Hatred (Ex): Boarfolk gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc subtype because of their special training against these hated foes.

Boarfolk are a surprisingly ancient race, rumored to be the original ancestry that orcs and pigfolk originated from. Unlike their brutish cousins, however, boarfolk have a rather sophisticated culture with intricate religious practices, and their cities are known for their remarkable innovations and efficiency. Most of them have a natural predilection for mathematics and physics. Boarfolk communities tend to be relatively small, living in simple but well-constructed villages hidden in deep forests, where they use trees for their shade and natural beauty.

Not ones to neglect their physical prowess either, boarfolk are trained in fighting from an early age, and are known for their skill in using their specially-forged obsidian weapons. They tend to be peaceful and avoid unnecessary violence, but their closeness to crueler and more belligerent orc subraces is a sore point for boarfolk - they regard orcs as degenerates, and pigfolk as abominations who offended their deities in ages past with some horrific sacrilege, and the hatred is very much mutual. The pigfolk's tendency for worshipping Great Old Ones lends credence to these rumors, but nothing definite is known. In any case, comparing boarfolk to pigfolk is a safe way to earn the boarfolk's scorn and irritation.

Boarfolk tend to revere gods of nature or Primal Spirits, and many of their rites revolve around trees. Most of their divine spellcasters are druids, but shamans are quite common as well. Arcane spellcasters are rather common as well, as a boarfolk's sharp mind is surprisingly apt for the study of such magic.

Pigfolk

Just a regular pigfolk villager.

Concept art!

This is the second (or third, if you count a tangentially-related article) in a series about gender and sexuality in my game world. However, I recognize that not everyone wants to examine these issues in their games. As such, the article itself is behind the cut.

(I was late posting yesterday, so enjoy your bonus 'monster.')

Hillfolk, pigfolk, grunters, squealers, tuskers

As ill-tempered as their namesake, boarfolk are a constant threat to civilization. They grow course hair both atop their head, in a thick neck ruff and along their spine, with a tufted tail not uncommon. For the most part, they lack the bristly body hair of boars. Lacking the long neck of humans, their heads usually sits directly atop their shoulders. Eyes are, well, piggish, with fanlike ears. Like their namesake, they have a snout rather than a nose. While their tusks never stop growing, their bipedal status means that they are difficult to bring to bear against opponents. Despite this, tusks are an important status symbol, with color, shape and size signifying certain traits. In lieu of kissing, boarfolk interlock their tusks and playfully try to knock the other off their feet.

Skin colors appear to be greatly dependent on local mineral conditions. High concentrations of iron deposits results in red skin, copper in bright green skin (darkening with age), silver in blueish-black skin and lead in a red-yellow skin. In at least one case, the now-dispersed Glowaxe tribe, skin has become an olive green. Dwarves and other miners can reliably use them as an indicator of local ores. Hair colors are usually on the darker side of the spectrum, though the odd albino does turn up. A few regressed specimens have tails sprouting from the base of their spines, good for swatting flies. Sideburns are omnipresent, but lip and chin hair is uncommon. Some boarfolk never really stop growing, and can reach heights of twelve feet of more. Such specimens are usually called ogres.

Boarfolk able to derive nutritional value from practically anything organic. They commonly raise pigs, raising them for meat, milk and material. Boar-horn helms are items of great prestige, because of the incredible number needed to construct a single helm. In times of great hardship, cannibalism is not unheard of, nor is there any associated social taboo. Indeed, to eat another boarfolk is to claim their ancestors as one's own: very useful when uniting clans for war.

Females enter into heat annually, making the hills into an unquiet place in the spring. More than one dwarven raid has been launched just to stop the incessant noise. Boarfolk bear live young, typically in litters of four to six. Interbreeding with other races is possible, and tends to diminish the piggish features. Unless, of course, the other parent was also a pig. Such creatures can grow to be enormous, monstrous boars.