Flerida is the Saint of Truth in my Umineko-inspired ttrpg, When the Crocodiles Weep. Yes, the Flerida from Florante at Laura! Here, she represents the force of truth as she tries to get to the bottom of Doña Jeronima's riddles.

The four premade PCs for my "Umineko but make it Filipino" campaign module, When the Crocodiles Weep.

Left to right: Cesar, Malaya, Fely, and Kulas - all cousins!

Cesar Obispo is the eldest grandchild of the Obispo family, being groomed for politics as per his clan's tradition. Traumatized by a childhood kidnapping incident he suffered, he tries his hardest to project an image of strength. He pushes himself to fulfill his parents’ expectations since it means he’ll never be vulnerable again.

Malaya Benitez is a journalism student and a staunch activist protesting the Marcos regime. Idealistic to a fault, she still has a lot to learn, including the skeletons in her family's closet - after all, they're cronies.

Fely Hughes is the youngest grandkid. With her American G.I. father leaving soon after she was born and her inventor mother disappearing for long periods of time, she's instead doted on by her aunts and uncles. Wise beyond her years, but has a fascination with dark stories, especially that of the Riverine Saint Doña Jeronima, supposedly the Obispos' patroness.

Kulas Obispo is a college dropout with a music hobby. Aware of his status as the "family disappointment", he mostly loafs around the house. Despite this, his Saint form is Sto. Monito, whom Jeronima has chosen as her worthy adversary in the higher-existence realm the Retablo.

More design thoughts under the cut:

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of love blossoming under the waters of a river.

People who lived above cried out: ”We are hungry! We are cold!”

The muse of the kingdom felt pity for these poor wretches. In her mercy, she turned them all into crocodiles, making them part of her kingdom. They lived underwater, and never knew suffering again.

Now, every time you see a crocodile weep, know that it is crying tears of joy.

—"Ang Alamat ng Buwaya" by Huseng Paksiw

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WHEN THE CROCODILES WEEP is a ttrpg inspired by the various myths surrounding the Pasig River. It tells the story of the Obispo family and their dealings with the Riverine Saint, Doña Jeronima. Parallel to this, the higher-existence saints debate with that same Jeronima in a metaphysical world known as the Retablo.

Follow the stories of:

Cesar, a political heir struggling to fill his father's shoes. His patron is Bernardo Carpio, Saint of Toil.

Malaya, an activist journalism student uncovering her family's dark secrets. Her patron is Flerida, Saint of Truth.

Kulas, a slacker musician challenged by Doña Jeronima to solve her riddles in the Retablo. His patron is Pilandok, Saint of Trickery.

Fely, a young but macabre bookworm regaining her memories as her patron Asuang, Saint of Damnation.

The main art for WHEN THE CROCODILES WEEP is inspired by the ending shot of Mutya ng Pasig (1950, dir. Richard Abelardo). The movie is a drama about the death of the village songstress Chedeng and its ripple effects years later. The ending shot is of the floating ghost of Chedeng - theorized by the locals to be various things, from a witch to a mermaid.

This haunting imagery called to mind the folk tale of Doña Jeronima, also a diwata haunting the Pasig River - her story is retold by both Jose Rizal in El Filibusterismo and Nick Joaquin in a short story of the same name. I ended up merging Chedeng's character with her to create the Doña Jeronima of the game. She is The Riverine Saint, patroness of the Obispo clan (whose names are a reference to the Archbishop in the Doña Jeronima short story, by the way!).

Back to Chedeng. In the movie, Chedeng sings the following lines:

Dati akong Paraluman sa Kaharian ng pag-ibig Ang pag-ibig nang mamatay Naglaho rin ang kaharian

[Translation: I used to be the Muse of a Kingdom of love When the love died The kingdom was destroyed as well]

This made me think: what if instead of a Golden Land, it was a Kingdom of Love? I expressed this through the game's opening text:

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of love blossoming under the waters of a river. People who lived above cried out: ”We are hungry! We are cold!” The muse of the kingdom felt pity for these poor wretches. In her mercy, she turned them all into crocodiles, making them part of her kingdom. They lived underwater, and never knew suffering again. Now, every time you see a crocodile weep, know that it is crying tears of joy.

Which brings me to the imagery of crocodiles, which were numerous in the Pasig River during the Spanish colonial period. We're familiar with the expression crocodile tears; we often represent politicians as these supposedly greedy, deceitful reptiles. The Obispos are a political clan, so I wanted to make a reference this.

However, in some pre-colonial belief systems crocodiles were also revered as the souls of ancestors. I tied this by establishing that the hoard of gold came from the Obispo patriarch's datu ancestors. The idea that a single clan has been ruling a territory as far back as 500 years ago also compels me greatly.

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ASUANG, SAINT OF DAMNATION

The mother of monsters and all things hellish. Dwelling in the depths of the earth under Mt. Malinao, from her cave come all manner of bats and beast. She loves to reward do-gooders almost as much as she loves to punish sinners.

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This is a reimagining of Asuang, the god of evil in Bicolano myth. Although in the original myth Asuang is a man, I thought having a whole "mother of all monsters" theme would be more interesting! I was aiming for a ghoulish vibe for this drawing - though hopefully not too scary.

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Asuang is the Saint of Damnation, the Swellbloom Kids equivalent of Umineko witches. She features in my module, When the Crocodiles Weep! Check it out here:

Ibong Adarna ttrpg is coming soon. And I mean real soon. Just adding some finishing touches + getting off my ass to do illustrations.

Just like WTCW, it'll have saints - Swellbloom Kids' equivalent of Umineko witches. Plata Panata is an OC I came up with, riffing off the rhyming in the expression "Oro, plata, mata" (gold, silver, death). Panata means "vow", so fitting for a Saint of Devotion.

Nining Matsing in the monkey in Rizal's Monkey and Turtle story, while Lerong Sinta is from the song "Leron, Leron Sinta".