#orstia

One of the things I really like to do when making a tabletop character is to have reasons why they can do certain things, or know certain things.

Long before the adventure, Ashton got himself into all sorts of ..."adventures", and he keeps track of things in a little diary of his. He learned how to write in a thieves cant style, so that way no one would know what he was up to (or who he might have a crush on).

In a side comment made by the GM on our server, he wrote out some of this little sequence - starting my wondering on WHY and HOW does his mom know how to read it??

And what ELSE does she know?

SO Ashton's story goes: His family owns one of the local general stores in the town of Gold Ore. After some tough money times, this ended up with Viktor (his dad) being heavily in debt to the Tiamat Syndicate, and specifically under the watch of their member Torbin (the blue dragon who kind of "runs" that area for them).

And yes, the Tiamat syndicate are all dragons. So they're pretty scary (designed by Alloart who runs the game)

They've been having to make payments for YEARS, and this ruffles Ashton to no end. He sees them as greedy and mean and very uncaring. (Shot his Pa in the ear once, which is where that scar comes from)

ANYWAY - on one such visit by the syndicate, they were hassling Viktor for payment and as such, almost doubling what they usually take. Ashton had enough and... well... he did the first thing that came to mind: that was throwing a paint can he had in his paws right at Torbin's head.

Nearly dying in the process (I mean, Torbin is called the Thunder Rage, he can get real angry real fast) , a deal was forged between Ashton and the Syndicate: to get rid of them and the debt his family owes, Ashton is going to pay it back in full. In a year and a half.

So, to help explain why a character who was pretty good at what they did BEFORE the adventure started, I usually have some sort of "soft reset" moment. In Ashton's case, it was getting into a bar fight, and getting stabbed with a chair leg.

As of when I am posting this, Ashton STILL hasn't figured out WHY he got hurt. During the fight he was terribly drunk, so his memory is hazy at best - and he's starting to find out details about that night as the game progresses.

One detail was from a journal of his mother's that he read, and found out that the one who brought him home that evening was none other than Torbin himself.

But what was HE doing there? WHY was he being helpful to a family he's been badgering for years? These are all good questions. Ones I do not have the answer to.

Meanwhile, a while ago, I created a DnD character for a homebrew campaign run by a friend Alloart, and I had the opportunity to make a raccoon folk for his world.

This was both wonderful and DANGEROUS as now it's all I draw. I love this little guy!

As with all games, the memeing INSTANTLY began. So here's a selection of a few Memes of Orstia, that I made.

1.) Candor (who was made by @zetrystan) is constantly harassing Ashton. Candor is also a fey.

2.) Because Ashton is a little shit, he throws everything back at Candor that he can. No matter how ineffectual it may be.

3.) SASA LELE, seemed natural to draw it for the characters. (and yes, Ashton is TERRIBLE at math)

Speaking of Ashton, it wouldn't be proper if I didn't introduce his ENTIRE family. He has three sibilings, and his two parents - making it a very full household. (this pic was for a thanksgiving post over on bsky back in the day)

They own the local general store ("Thistle Do Nicely"), and the kids help out. Or in Ashton's case, try not to make too much of a mess.