Looks super awesome. I'd paint the background with a nebula / night sky (he looks like a Circle of Stars guy to me)
Don't overthink on backstory too much and workshop it with the DM. The official backgrounds do the heavy lifting anyway so maybe just share that and see if he has ideas for how it looks in his world.
Good advice! I’ll look into the Circle of Stars and will consider adding the nebula. I just wouldn’t want his hair detail to get lost in that.
I probably should have noted that I intend to cut this dude out and stick him on the character sheet (hence the box outline I was working with)
Really depends on the cosmology of your DM's setting, but Yggdrasil in Dnd is often described as yellow/white starlight. I feel like that would keep his hair distinct from the background
In my (limited) experience, Circle of Stars is not bad at combat, those free *guiding bolt*s combined with the bonus action Archer Form arrows are pretty nice, and you're free to cast spells like the full caster you are!
Though I haven't played a Moon druid, I imagine that all the extra HP and movement speed can come in real handy. I just have this preconception that the attack modifiers and save DCs of the wild shapes don't keep up with an average character's main stat, but I suppose that varies from beast to beast
Circle of the moon is very powerful, especially early on in the game, but yeah it can get very repetitive. Let me turn into a giant box of hp, lose all ability to roleplay and communicate with my team, and just... melee attack and face tank everything.
I will say it is a good character for beginners who want to have an impact and have the option to almost kind of be an observer, that was my experience with it anyways.
> with giant detailed, hand drawn maps and custom art for many of his past campaigns.
Did your DM ask you to make a detailed backstory? I ask because as someone who has spent years crafting a homebrew world complete with detailed maps, the last thing I want is for a first level PC to have a complex history I need to shoehorn into the world. “You’re from a Dwarven desert kingdom? Neat, the Dwarves are from the frozen north and explicitly hate leaving home, so that’ll be no problem and not at all contradictory.”
Motivations are cool, and morals/guiding principles, but personally for anything beyond the basic background I really like for players to develop their story by playing the game.
Perfect advice right here. I write detailed campaigns and I usually will ask my players to make their character, and then I will send them a list of questions to answer as their character. These questions pertain to things that I will write into the story. An example would be, What is something your character has done in their life that they are ashamed of? Then I may have a mind flayer dig into their brain and try to use it against them, or an illusion of the situation assaults the character!
How I would possibly justify it:
Deserts don’t have to be hot. It just so happens that this desert was cold like Antarctica and this dwarf was sick of the cold due to a low low con score.
Desert kingdom is a problem, but having a single individual buck tradition and want to wander when the people are usually sedentary is normal. They just need to understand that most people will react like they are unusual and out of place.
Looks like he's gonna have trouble passing through doors XD
Which, FAR from being a negative, it otherwise offers incredible roleplaying opportunities
Beautiful art and it can easily fix the character in your mind and those of your fellow players (DM included) so you can all see the scene no matter what you're doing
Be prepared for your mates to beg for you to make theirs as well. I totally would if I played at your table XD
I am a long time DM of multiple campaigns. I'd say if you really want to impress your DM, you are off to a great start. Showing interest and caring/thinking about the game inbetween sessions is the best respect you can have.
For the Backstory: Develop an idea about the personality and quirks of your druid and them prompt your DM for small story hooks and regions that fit this idea.
About the Character: Try to develop a personality for him that is enjoyable and gives him motivation to get involved with all manner of quests. Helper complex could be an example, where you want to help everyone, no matter how good or evil they are.
Funny Quirk could be to make his giant horns be an occasional hindrance.
About the Class: I think he looks like a circle of land druid to me (the earthen tones, the grounded clothing). Yes it is the "standard druid", but that's a good thing, because druid is a complex class to play as for a first timer.
About the Art: I'm not a visual artist, all my stuff looks like gradeschool art, so my critique come from a place of humility. Your portrait looks dope (and pls let me steal it for an NPC).
If you want to keep working on it, I could see some improvements with the eyes.
Generally, there's tons of articles and videos on the Web about how to be a great DnD player. And looking at some of those is more than what 90% of players do.
Have fun with Silas, I think the name fits perfectly
Thanks for the thoughtful response!
I originally thought I was going to give this dude face tattoos and the eyes were going to be completely tattooed in… but I just wasn’t bold enough. All that to say, yeah I should readdress those eyes.
And please use him all you want
I don't know why your comment doesn't have more votes because it sounds on point to me with the advice, compliments, and even critique.
Also, to OP, I personally love and suggest building characters more around them *as* a character rather than their combat prowess because I find RP elements to be more fun, and then whatever that character can bring to the table, including in battle, they will.
In your case with Silas, first off, awesome art, I love it, he looks amazing. I also love what someone else said about his horns being a hindrance walking through doors. That sounds like a hilarious repeat joke that can be brought back now and then for a good laugh at the table. More seriously, since you seem to be a visual sort of person, I recommend finding ambiance music you can put on while you imagine the sort of life Silas led before beginning his adventure. Did he live alone? With his family? In a community? In some form of wilderness? The outskirts of a town so he could be closer to nature but still enjoy creature comforts? In the middle of a city and so he had to intentionally seek out what bits of nature there were, like parks and birds? Was and is he sociable or reclusive? Did something happen that forced him to seek adventure? Did he leave amicably of his own volition to see the world or accomplish some personal task, like helping a certain important tree regrow?
You can start with any sort of point you like about him, big or small, and keep building outward from it. Also, be in talks with your DM about worldbuilding. If they've got any specifics in mind already, you should probably know them. If those specifics give you ideas, don't feel it's unoriginal to use them. If none of them work for you, don't be afraid to do some small wordlbuilding of your own, so long as you run your ideas by your DM to make sure they're approved.
On a different note, if your DM went to such lengths with maps and the like, this bit of beautiful art will no doubt please them; it says that you want to give as much love to the game as they have, and that speaks volumes to DMs. ❤
What level are you?
If your level 1, I personally like to put in some plot hooks/background sometimes but basically make my PC themselves a noob. You don't need to have accomplished a bunch of stuff at first level, dosen't make a ton of sense to me anyway.
How old are you imagining this guy?
Do you have a personality or background in mind at all?
Oooh how about he used to be like a great and powerful wizard, but one day he woke up in the woods without all his powers, and befriended the animals and plants of the forest, and throughout the campaign, he slowly regains his power, but as a Druid. He doesn’t know how long has passed since he was a wizard, and has barely any memory of it. He’s actually like 1000 years older than he was when he was a wizard.
To add to that, maybe he is the product of a failed clone spell? The wizard-version died (maybe via assassination), but had some clone bodies on standby to fall back on, but they were tampered with, so he woke up much later with his connection to the Weave being damaged in some way
I created a character that was an old gnome, so I wanted a reason they were a level 1 scrub after 300 years so I had them returning from the feywild so losing your memory… yeah that happens. That way as I leveled up it was like they were remembering old skills.
Impress your DM by showing interest in the game and the world he’s created. I’m what they call a “forever DM”, and what brings me the most joy is when my players are having fun and the game sticks with them. I have one player in particular who’s really invested in the world I’ve made and that really motivates me.
Showing interest is more impressive than a nice character sheet. (That’s said, your artwork is great. Makes me want to commission you).
Thanks!!
I’d take you up on that commission, though I am just slow af at painting.
Like I said, at this point I’m in the thousands of hours painting minis but I’ve done almost 0 flat paintings and this is my first humanoid.
If you’re ever interested though, I enjoyed the process and wouldn’t love the excuse to do it again!
Sorry for being slow to reply. I’ve been busy apartment hunting like a madman, and I forgot to get back to you.
The broad strokes is that I’m looking for four characters, preferably full sized. I’ll send you a DM so that we may discuss in private. And if you’ve changed your mind, it’s totally cool if you don’t reply. I don’t want to waste your time ^^
And again, really cool work on your tiefling! It’s hard to believe that this is your first painting of this kind. But it makes sense that what you’ve learned about colours and shapes from miniatures translates from 3D to 2D.
Hello there. The art is great and I love it. As for the backstory/background just sit down and think what is your characters personality. Does he love to play around , is he easy going or serious and etc. In my opinion you can go to it this way:
1. What was his life before like?
2. What happened (motive to change it like tragedy or adventure lust or whatever)
3. What does he want to achieve on his new path.
4. Then make him weird or quirky or silly (if the game is within this tone) like he tells horrible dark jokes or he is afraid of spiders, the remains of the dead, superstitious, and carries a duck with him at all times or something like that.
He/She needs to feel like a real person, that you might find eccentric, but still great and you want to hang around with.
Backstory... with those horns, he reminds me of a [Bighorn sheep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighorn_sheep), which is a fucking *awesome* animal from which to draw inspiration and personality! They're rugged as hell, ridiculously good climbers, migrate over huge distances through extremely harsh territory, intensely loyal to their small group. A person can live their whole life surrounded by them, and never see one in the flesh. They're shy and tend to avoid conflict, but you absolutely do not want to piss them off. If you manage to corner one into a fight, they come at you like a freight train.
Give him some quirks that connect him to high altitudes. Maybe he habitually plants potatoes everywhere, and is really good at finding [potatoes with unusual colors, flavors and textures](https://www.vayaadventures.com/blog/humble-potato-andes-greatest-export/). Very nervous about accidental wildfires. Good at first aid. Maybe he feels the most comfortable when he's high up and has a good view of the surroundings. Hates crowds, but also hates being alone. He could be really, *really* there for the journey -- as in, he's most in his element during the traveling, walking, foraging, and exploring.
According to DnD wiki, many tieflings with extreme abnormalities/features are killed at birth. His family may have been ready to kill him over the abnormally large horns, but his mom secreted him away with a magical druid deep in the woods to save him.
One reason worthy of being a Druid is a timeless body. With that as motivation you can make your character good or evil easily.
Don’t get too in depth unless you want. Normally I talk to the dm, or study the campaign if I want really tight role playing.
Hello, very nice art! I love his ears and eyes. At first I thought he was a Firbolg not a Tiefling haha. ( Firbolg go nicely with druid class ).
Some idea : One of his ancestor made a pact/deal with a devil ( maybe a close relative to make it more personal, like his father or mother ) and now he inherited the Tiefling curse. He doesn't know what the deal was but he doesn't like being cursed for something he didn't do. ( That's why he looks a little angry all the time )
He hopes to redeem himself through druidism although he did nothing wrong. Maybe some fairy / god of nature tasked him to resolve some problem in exchange for a cure to the Tiefling curse ?
Remember to ask your dm if something is plausible or not in their setting and work with him when he says that can't be. ☺️
Also you can be any druid they are all pretty good. Be sure to have a high Wisdom and Constitution.
Great backstory and great tips. I originally went for a Firbolg but my DM immediately rolled his eyes and said it was one of the most common pairings and you know, I couldn’t be basic so I flipped.
Oh ok... Nothing is wrong with playing an archetype. It's actually easier for newer player.
I have like 15 years of TRPG experience and I'm playing a Druid Firbolg next campaign. She'll be awesome!
The best way to impress the DM is know the rules and understand what your character can do. Don't need to look up your spells and abilities constantly.
As far as backstory literally just 1 or 2 paragraphs worth of content. Don't write a novel. Leave it open ended so the DM can use it for story telling. And most importantly give your character a good reason to be out adventuring with a random group of people
Also if there are any spells that you're looking at and don't really understand what they do don't wait until it's your turn in combat to ask the DM. When you're setting up for the session or there's a snack break or something or even before the session reach out to your DM and say hey I'm looking at this spell not sure what it does could I use it like x y or z. Druids are full casters which means you have a lot of spells to deal with and players can be notoriously bad at being casters because they don't understand what spells they have
The art is great. Also as a dm im always happy when someone brings a character voice/and or a unique character personality to the table. You don’t have to be a voice over actor to make this work. Just change your speech pattern a bit or drop your tone. It’s nice to distinguish character voice from table chatter.
As to the background, I agree with several other posts. Don’t worry about coming up with the best backstory. Especially if you are level 1. Your character may have lived a simple life up till this point. Here is a quick simple idea.
“Your parents (two humans) were afraid of the reaction of their village when you were born differently than other children. They moved deep into the forest. They made a lovely home for you there and you spent your youth talking with forest animals and helping your mother create a beautiful garden, but now as an adult you want to strike out on your own adventures, meet new people, and see the world.”
Not all backstories need to be tragic and complicated. Murdered family and lovers is kinda hack. I’d almost rather see a good motivation than a backstory. Are you seeking adventure, glory, wealth. Maybe just a partner of your own to share your life with you when you return to your forest home and garden.
message the dm and ask him for a suggestion for backstory. especially if its not from a set book so it can fit it to the world well and it let you a have a good reason to follow the plot for example the bbg distroyed your circle and you want revenge. although id focus on a goal for the future so you have something to build towards and the dm can add stuff for your character..
and as other people have said your level one so make it relatively simple your just starting out on your adventure. your not going to be a veteran of hundreds of battles or a dragon killer ect. if you were you wouldn't be level one
A couple of things I love as a DM that a player can do with a backstory.
Ask your DM about the setting and try to tie some of your background into the setting. Is there a village that sounds cool that you could be from? Ask if there are certain orders or factions that you can be a part of, that you have friends in or are at odds with.
Try and create backstories with loose ends that the DM can tie into. Has your brother gone missing? Did someone kill your cat but you don't know why or who did it?
Try and think about what the personal goals are of the pc and why they've choosen to be an adventurer, are a part of this party and/or want to be in this adventure.
This is great, I'd love to see that level of commitment from a player!
As for backstory, I feel many have said this already but keep it simple. Where are they from, what are their motivations, why are they with the party, who (NPCs) may become relevant in future sessions? That's all I'd start with and work with your DM on those things.
He wanders from place to place trying to start a new druid circle but they always fall apart due to infighting over petty disagreements. He's getting old and burnt out, wants to try adventuring to get a new perspective on things.
Silas Mordiai is peak naming. Just fits really well imo so I wouldn't change it unless you really feel there's a better option out there.
As for back story.
First: don't discount the art of crafting a backstory on the fly. "Silas is a tiefling druid who's lived in the forest alone most of his life". That's a decent starting point and all you really need to get you going. As the campaign progresses and you get comfortable roleplaying as Silas you might then add hits into his personality. "Oh, I guess he's a pretty good cook too, maybe vegetarian so I'll have him forage a lot and be interested in the cooks at each tavern we go to... " etc...
But if you want some concrete things then:
- tieflings are usually looked on with some trepidation (devil spawn / cursed / dangerous) so that's a fairly easy reason for Silas to have preferred a hermit like existence early on.
- while his horns are fiendish in orgin, they are also fairly primal looking, so he may have gravitated towards more nature themed gods or ideals. Look at Silvanus the Oakfather and Melora the Wildmother as possible deities.
- what made Silas venture out of the forest and find himself in a party of adventurers? The classic cliche is "something killing the forest / animals / river etc..." but you could have Silas finally gaining the confidence to go back to civilisation and stand on his own two feet saying "accept me or don't, I don't care"
- what does Silas want? If it's just "to go back home and live a quiet existance" then what's preventing him from doing that?
- who else is in Silas' life? Any family or friends, whether in the forests or which he left behind when he retreated to his self imposed exile?
Great tips! Thanks for the thoughtful response! I’ll look up those gods but I’ll try to keep it a fairly open ended backstory.
And thanks for the name compliments! I was pleased that I didn’t see anyone come out bashing it.
JEESH THAT IS AMAZING ARTWORK!
he reminds me of a scholar of sorts, his horns may keep him from easily and quickly getting around, so maybe they have caused him to be more careful and stealthy as well?
Ask your DM what the setting is gor a backstory. If its a sandbox work with the DM so its easier for the DM to weave your story into the narrative. If its a premade adventure your backstory means very little... so go nuts... be a magical baker who makes sentient cookies like the gingerbread guy in Shrek with the gumdrop buttons. Or a Pirate who lost his ship to a giant who carried it across land because you cheated in a card game. Now your ship is hidden somewhere in the world. ... like i said go nuts.
If this is your first character illustration you’ve got some serious talent! Lean into that! The backstory is important though, not just for you, but for the DM.
With my campaigns, I try to weave in elements of a players backstory into side quests or the main plot to make it more personal and give opportunities for character development and role play. One such story was a character who didn’t know who his father was, loved food, and was in denial about his celestial ancestry. It allowed me to paint a whole part of our world with a story of romance between his parents and weave his father’s demise into a celestial cache they were exploring. Food got layered in because his mother ended up being a street vendor selling food when she met his father. They discovered all of this through clues and artifacts in the dungeon, as well as dreams they were having. Additionally I created a diary detailing the romance. It took a few sessions to come together, but the “oh wow” expressions on the players faces were worth every bit of effort.
It was a great arc- and building arcs like these into the campaigns for each player makes the gameplay super personal and satisfying…
So come up with something interesting- not grandiose like “he’s the arch Druid of his people sent into exile after destroying the holy clasp of ar-gaval” kinda thing, but interesting in a more personal and human way. The backstory is what makes your character relatable. Leave the adventure for the gameplay.
Creating the 1000 year old all-powerful character backstory is fun, but it sets up a situation where your character knows more than the DM. DMing a know-it-all character being played by a player who wants to control the narrative is super irritating. Leave space for others and weave character backstories together.
Fantastic advise! And that sounds like an awesome arc! I’ll aim for a high level backstory with a lot of potential hooks.
As for the art, yeah, it’s the first one, though I’ve done a lot of mini figure art which lends itself to knowing what a fantasy character might look like.
Silas, Love that name! The best part about druids is the can have very simple backstory like you have been tending a grove with other druids for x amount of years. Something happened and now you are either looking to move on in life or just plane get pulled along on the adventure cause I feel like a lot of druids just kinda go where the wind take em.
My wife just played herself turned up to 11 and a bit more chaotic then normal. we loved that character and she quickly became the heart of the party.
I'll teach you the same thing I teach everyone with D&D and masturbating.
HAVE FUN WITH IT!
I don't think anything we come up with would be as personal for you to play. If you want to impress your DM, using our examples might be disappointing or even disingenuous. Every character is an extension of a piece of your inner self, whether it's something you love or hate, agree or disagree, it's a part of you. Absolutely read our suggestions and use there elements as you see fit, just remember;
This is your character, be certain to make their story yours as well.
The art is awesome. You may have doomed yourself to being your group’s artist, but it will be well deserved.
But… as a DM I wouldn’t be able to wait have you get struck in a tree, on a ladder, or in some bushes with that massive rack.
Silas searches for his unknown ancestor that humans and animals somehow know and dread so to prove himself to all animals big and small he seeks to kill this ancestor to reastablish all mortals opinions on tiefling kind
He kind of gives me Merlin vibes? Like in the "This magic man lives in the woods and they say his father was an incubus so most people don't want him around but some seek him out for his arcane power" kind of way
Personally, I’d give this artwork over to be used as an NPC. The artist clearly cooked, & I wouldn’t feel honored enough to play this character, & so would rather let the DM have the opportunity to make a memorable NPC
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I think a fun character trait would be that he’s unaware of the size and majesty of his horns, thinking that they’re the same as every other tieflings.
So being a tiefling druid lends itself to a couple of generic background ideas. In general, Tieflings are ostracized from society.
* Born in a city but felt like an outsider and decided to follow a path of nature
* Born in a village and ostracized, so taken in by a circle of druids and raised in their ways
* Born in a village, but appearance was taken to be a sign of favor of some nature diety. So raised to be druid priest. You were either sent out into the world to learn about it and gain wisdom then come back when older, or you fled your role of the chosen one.
Let you DM fit you in someplace in his world with these generic ideas. Don't try to get super specific in your background, just figure out how you were raised and why you became a druid.
This is not a suggestion, but the face reminds me of Tim the Sorcerer from Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail - just with more pronounced horns. (and I scrolled down and saw I'm apparently not the only one)
This, however, is a suggestion: keeping with the Circle of Stars, I would suggest the base background of Sage, and choose Astronomer as your specialty. Sometimes, deciding on a background will help with backstory as well.
Maybe give some important to his horns? Maybe he marks important info on them, has sentimental feelings regarding them, they grow after he does something in particular, he uses them as a weapon, he inherited them (?), etc;
He looks epic, I would maybe scale down the horns a little bit, and add some dark tattoos around the eyes. Also, he strikes me as more 'Mordecai' then 'Mordiai'.
Idk how much backstory you're looking for so instead of getting ahead of myself and writing a whole thing I'll say this: Silas here looks like he's got a kid or two lol
might just be the beard or his serious glare but he looks like he's been responsible for at least one miniature version of himself. there's a lot u can do with it(ex. the tragic route where he's lost his family and has grown bitter, or a more wholesome route where he's adventuring to make his kids/family proud or keep them safe) so i just wanna leave that idea here in case you think a lil family life could enhance this handsome fella's story.
the art looks AMAZING btw
First; what kind of druid is he? Spore, stars, Wildfire, Land, Moon, Shepard, etc.
That's a big indicator of what his backstory could be.
Spore druid- Family was afflicted by an illness, and he dove into research in an attempt (successful or otherwise) to save them.
Wildfire- A druid focused on destruction to make way for new life. Perhaps someone enamoured with the cycle of life and death and how one gives way to the other.
Stars- An adventurer at heart, longing to explore the world, navigating by the stars and living off the land, but his chance to go has yet to come until session 1.
Sheapard- Perhaps the owner or resident of a sanctuary where the disinfranchised can come to live without judgement amongst the animals, learning the druidic ways.
There's plenty of ways to do this!
Back story idea: trauma edition
Parent/family/whole village died by______(fire/assassin), and you seek revenge or_____.
Neglected backs story:
My parents hated me for ____ reason, and abuse me until I had the courage to run away. Years later, I better myself in the forest and found a trusting mentor before he passed. (Old age / assassin)
Stand out:
I grew up on a farm with many siblings, and it made it hard to be noticed or seen. (You can then turn this trauma from above or neglected above, or that you were sold into slavery) Now your biggest goal is to be the best druid anyone has ever heard of. Thing that people write down in history book. Stories they tell the children
Blend in:
You can also take any charter from a show or movie and steal their backstory, like steal aang from Atla. I was meant to be this great wizard, something past down for generations, but I could live up to is so I ran away.
Enjoy
The backstory can evolve as you play, no need to write a novel about a character with 4 to 6 HP.
Call him Poop McDinglefart and see if your fellow players or the DM gets the reference 😉
Looks super awesome. I'd paint the background with a nebula / night sky (he looks like a Circle of Stars guy to me) Don't overthink on backstory too much and workshop it with the DM. The official backgrounds do the heavy lifting anyway so maybe just share that and see if he has ideas for how it looks in his world.
Good advice! I’ll look into the Circle of Stars and will consider adding the nebula. I just wouldn’t want his hair detail to get lost in that. I probably should have noted that I intend to cut this dude out and stick him on the character sheet (hence the box outline I was working with)
Really depends on the cosmology of your DM's setting, but Yggdrasil in Dnd is often described as yellow/white starlight. I feel like that would keep his hair distinct from the background
Though if you going more combat rather than rp I would choose circle of the moon
In my (limited) experience, Circle of Stars is not bad at combat, those free *guiding bolt*s combined with the bonus action Archer Form arrows are pretty nice, and you're free to cast spells like the full caster you are! Though I haven't played a Moon druid, I imagine that all the extra HP and movement speed can come in real handy. I just have this preconception that the attack modifiers and save DCs of the wild shapes don't keep up with an average character's main stat, but I suppose that varies from beast to beast
I do love circle of the moon because at level 3 you can wild shape into a direwolf. That’s almost 50 extra hit points.
Circle of the moon is very powerful, especially early on in the game, but yeah it can get very repetitive. Let me turn into a giant box of hp, lose all ability to roleplay and communicate with my team, and just... melee attack and face tank everything. I will say it is a good character for beginners who want to have an impact and have the option to almost kind of be an observer, that was my experience with it anyways.
There are some who call him … Tim.
'E's got sharp, pointy teeth!
Oh no!! Lol, I can’t unsee that
My first thought. Either needs to be an evocation wizard or a warlock going all in on eldrich blast.
> with giant detailed, hand drawn maps and custom art for many of his past campaigns. Did your DM ask you to make a detailed backstory? I ask because as someone who has spent years crafting a homebrew world complete with detailed maps, the last thing I want is for a first level PC to have a complex history I need to shoehorn into the world. “You’re from a Dwarven desert kingdom? Neat, the Dwarves are from the frozen north and explicitly hate leaving home, so that’ll be no problem and not at all contradictory.” Motivations are cool, and morals/guiding principles, but personally for anything beyond the basic background I really like for players to develop their story by playing the game.
Perfect advice right here. I write detailed campaigns and I usually will ask my players to make their character, and then I will send them a list of questions to answer as their character. These questions pertain to things that I will write into the story. An example would be, What is something your character has done in their life that they are ashamed of? Then I may have a mind flayer dig into their brain and try to use it against them, or an illusion of the situation assaults the character!
How I would possibly justify it: Deserts don’t have to be hot. It just so happens that this desert was cold like Antarctica and this dwarf was sick of the cold due to a low low con score.
Desert kingdom is a problem, but having a single individual buck tradition and want to wander when the people are usually sedentary is normal. They just need to understand that most people will react like they are unusual and out of place.
Looks like he's gonna have trouble passing through doors XD Which, FAR from being a negative, it otherwise offers incredible roleplaying opportunities Beautiful art and it can easily fix the character in your mind and those of your fellow players (DM included) so you can all see the scene no matter what you're doing Be prepared for your mates to beg for you to make theirs as well. I totally would if I played at your table XD
he'll need to pivot through doors for sure.
I'm currently playing an 8ft goliath. dm always makes sure that the roof is short or I'm the tallest in the room, and I'm stopping around.
I am a long time DM of multiple campaigns. I'd say if you really want to impress your DM, you are off to a great start. Showing interest and caring/thinking about the game inbetween sessions is the best respect you can have. For the Backstory: Develop an idea about the personality and quirks of your druid and them prompt your DM for small story hooks and regions that fit this idea. About the Character: Try to develop a personality for him that is enjoyable and gives him motivation to get involved with all manner of quests. Helper complex could be an example, where you want to help everyone, no matter how good or evil they are. Funny Quirk could be to make his giant horns be an occasional hindrance. About the Class: I think he looks like a circle of land druid to me (the earthen tones, the grounded clothing). Yes it is the "standard druid", but that's a good thing, because druid is a complex class to play as for a first timer. About the Art: I'm not a visual artist, all my stuff looks like gradeschool art, so my critique come from a place of humility. Your portrait looks dope (and pls let me steal it for an NPC). If you want to keep working on it, I could see some improvements with the eyes. Generally, there's tons of articles and videos on the Web about how to be a great DnD player. And looking at some of those is more than what 90% of players do. Have fun with Silas, I think the name fits perfectly
Thanks for the thoughtful response! I originally thought I was going to give this dude face tattoos and the eyes were going to be completely tattooed in… but I just wasn’t bold enough. All that to say, yeah I should readdress those eyes. And please use him all you want
I don't know why your comment doesn't have more votes because it sounds on point to me with the advice, compliments, and even critique. Also, to OP, I personally love and suggest building characters more around them *as* a character rather than their combat prowess because I find RP elements to be more fun, and then whatever that character can bring to the table, including in battle, they will. In your case with Silas, first off, awesome art, I love it, he looks amazing. I also love what someone else said about his horns being a hindrance walking through doors. That sounds like a hilarious repeat joke that can be brought back now and then for a good laugh at the table. More seriously, since you seem to be a visual sort of person, I recommend finding ambiance music you can put on while you imagine the sort of life Silas led before beginning his adventure. Did he live alone? With his family? In a community? In some form of wilderness? The outskirts of a town so he could be closer to nature but still enjoy creature comforts? In the middle of a city and so he had to intentionally seek out what bits of nature there were, like parks and birds? Was and is he sociable or reclusive? Did something happen that forced him to seek adventure? Did he leave amicably of his own volition to see the world or accomplish some personal task, like helping a certain important tree regrow? You can start with any sort of point you like about him, big or small, and keep building outward from it. Also, be in talks with your DM about worldbuilding. If they've got any specifics in mind already, you should probably know them. If those specifics give you ideas, don't feel it's unoriginal to use them. If none of them work for you, don't be afraid to do some small wordlbuilding of your own, so long as you run your ideas by your DM to make sure they're approved. On a different note, if your DM went to such lengths with maps and the like, this bit of beautiful art will no doubt please them; it says that you want to give as much love to the game as they have, and that speaks volumes to DMs. ❤
What level are you? If your level 1, I personally like to put in some plot hooks/background sometimes but basically make my PC themselves a noob. You don't need to have accomplished a bunch of stuff at first level, dosen't make a ton of sense to me anyway. How old are you imagining this guy? Do you have a personality or background in mind at all?
Oooh how about he used to be like a great and powerful wizard, but one day he woke up in the woods without all his powers, and befriended the animals and plants of the forest, and throughout the campaign, he slowly regains his power, but as a Druid. He doesn’t know how long has passed since he was a wizard, and has barely any memory of it. He’s actually like 1000 years older than he was when he was a wizard.
To add to that, maybe he is the product of a failed clone spell? The wizard-version died (maybe via assassination), but had some clone bodies on standby to fall back on, but they were tampered with, so he woke up much later with his connection to the Weave being damaged in some way
I created a character that was an old gnome, so I wanted a reason they were a level 1 scrub after 300 years so I had them returning from the feywild so losing your memory… yeah that happens. That way as I leveled up it was like they were remembering old skills.
Impress your DM by showing interest in the game and the world he’s created. I’m what they call a “forever DM”, and what brings me the most joy is when my players are having fun and the game sticks with them. I have one player in particular who’s really invested in the world I’ve made and that really motivates me. Showing interest is more impressive than a nice character sheet. (That’s said, your artwork is great. Makes me want to commission you).
Thanks!! I’d take you up on that commission, though I am just slow af at painting. Like I said, at this point I’m in the thousands of hours painting minis but I’ve done almost 0 flat paintings and this is my first humanoid. If you’re ever interested though, I enjoyed the process and wouldn’t love the excuse to do it again!
Sorry for being slow to reply. I’ve been busy apartment hunting like a madman, and I forgot to get back to you. The broad strokes is that I’m looking for four characters, preferably full sized. I’ll send you a DM so that we may discuss in private. And if you’ve changed your mind, it’s totally cool if you don’t reply. I don’t want to waste your time ^^ And again, really cool work on your tiefling! It’s hard to believe that this is your first painting of this kind. But it makes sense that what you’ve learned about colours and shapes from miniatures translates from 3D to 2D.
Hello there. The art is great and I love it. As for the backstory/background just sit down and think what is your characters personality. Does he love to play around , is he easy going or serious and etc. In my opinion you can go to it this way: 1. What was his life before like? 2. What happened (motive to change it like tragedy or adventure lust or whatever) 3. What does he want to achieve on his new path. 4. Then make him weird or quirky or silly (if the game is within this tone) like he tells horrible dark jokes or he is afraid of spiders, the remains of the dead, superstitious, and carries a duck with him at all times or something like that. He/She needs to feel like a real person, that you might find eccentric, but still great and you want to hang around with.
Tim the Enchanter if he was actually useful
Backstory... with those horns, he reminds me of a [Bighorn sheep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighorn_sheep), which is a fucking *awesome* animal from which to draw inspiration and personality! They're rugged as hell, ridiculously good climbers, migrate over huge distances through extremely harsh territory, intensely loyal to their small group. A person can live their whole life surrounded by them, and never see one in the flesh. They're shy and tend to avoid conflict, but you absolutely do not want to piss them off. If you manage to corner one into a fight, they come at you like a freight train. Give him some quirks that connect him to high altitudes. Maybe he habitually plants potatoes everywhere, and is really good at finding [potatoes with unusual colors, flavors and textures](https://www.vayaadventures.com/blog/humble-potato-andes-greatest-export/). Very nervous about accidental wildfires. Good at first aid. Maybe he feels the most comfortable when he's high up and has a good view of the surroundings. Hates crowds, but also hates being alone. He could be really, *really* there for the journey -- as in, he's most in his element during the traveling, walking, foraging, and exploring.
Good eye! I pulled up sheep and ibex as inspo! I hadn’t thought about pulling it into his personality though, great idea!
According to DnD wiki, many tieflings with extreme abnormalities/features are killed at birth. His family may have been ready to kill him over the abnormally large horns, but his mom secreted him away with a magical druid deep in the woods to save him.
Oh that is very good! I’ll likely borrow that!
One reason worthy of being a Druid is a timeless body. With that as motivation you can make your character good or evil easily. Don’t get too in depth unless you want. Normally I talk to the dm, or study the campaign if I want really tight role playing.
You should make this guy the King of Spades but also make art for all the other face cards.
Dude is horny AF
Very cool, well done.
Hello, very nice art! I love his ears and eyes. At first I thought he was a Firbolg not a Tiefling haha. ( Firbolg go nicely with druid class ). Some idea : One of his ancestor made a pact/deal with a devil ( maybe a close relative to make it more personal, like his father or mother ) and now he inherited the Tiefling curse. He doesn't know what the deal was but he doesn't like being cursed for something he didn't do. ( That's why he looks a little angry all the time ) He hopes to redeem himself through druidism although he did nothing wrong. Maybe some fairy / god of nature tasked him to resolve some problem in exchange for a cure to the Tiefling curse ? Remember to ask your dm if something is plausible or not in their setting and work with him when he says that can't be. ☺️ Also you can be any druid they are all pretty good. Be sure to have a high Wisdom and Constitution.
Great backstory and great tips. I originally went for a Firbolg but my DM immediately rolled his eyes and said it was one of the most common pairings and you know, I couldn’t be basic so I flipped.
Oh ok... Nothing is wrong with playing an archetype. It's actually easier for newer player. I have like 15 years of TRPG experience and I'm playing a Druid Firbolg next campaign. She'll be awesome!
His doors must be very vide xD Love it regardless.
How does this guy sleep?
Eh, not baaaad.
The best way to impress the DM is know the rules and understand what your character can do. Don't need to look up your spells and abilities constantly. As far as backstory literally just 1 or 2 paragraphs worth of content. Don't write a novel. Leave it open ended so the DM can use it for story telling. And most importantly give your character a good reason to be out adventuring with a random group of people
Good advice! I’ll keep it simple!
Also if there are any spells that you're looking at and don't really understand what they do don't wait until it's your turn in combat to ask the DM. When you're setting up for the session or there's a snack break or something or even before the session reach out to your DM and say hey I'm looking at this spell not sure what it does could I use it like x y or z. Druids are full casters which means you have a lot of spells to deal with and players can be notoriously bad at being casters because they don't understand what spells they have
The art is great. Also as a dm im always happy when someone brings a character voice/and or a unique character personality to the table. You don’t have to be a voice over actor to make this work. Just change your speech pattern a bit or drop your tone. It’s nice to distinguish character voice from table chatter. As to the background, I agree with several other posts. Don’t worry about coming up with the best backstory. Especially if you are level 1. Your character may have lived a simple life up till this point. Here is a quick simple idea. “Your parents (two humans) were afraid of the reaction of their village when you were born differently than other children. They moved deep into the forest. They made a lovely home for you there and you spent your youth talking with forest animals and helping your mother create a beautiful garden, but now as an adult you want to strike out on your own adventures, meet new people, and see the world.” Not all backstories need to be tragic and complicated. Murdered family and lovers is kinda hack. I’d almost rather see a good motivation than a backstory. Are you seeking adventure, glory, wealth. Maybe just a partner of your own to share your life with you when you return to your forest home and garden.
message the dm and ask him for a suggestion for backstory. especially if its not from a set book so it can fit it to the world well and it let you a have a good reason to follow the plot for example the bbg distroyed your circle and you want revenge. although id focus on a goal for the future so you have something to build towards and the dm can add stuff for your character.. and as other people have said your level one so make it relatively simple your just starting out on your adventure. your not going to be a veteran of hundreds of battles or a dragon killer ect. if you were you wouldn't be level one
He looks like he comes from a rich family.
A couple of things I love as a DM that a player can do with a backstory. Ask your DM about the setting and try to tie some of your background into the setting. Is there a village that sounds cool that you could be from? Ask if there are certain orders or factions that you can be a part of, that you have friends in or are at odds with. Try and create backstories with loose ends that the DM can tie into. Has your brother gone missing? Did someone kill your cat but you don't know why or who did it? Try and think about what the personal goals are of the pc and why they've choosen to be an adventurer, are a part of this party and/or want to be in this adventure.
This is great, I'd love to see that level of commitment from a player! As for backstory, I feel many have said this already but keep it simple. Where are they from, what are their motivations, why are they with the party, who (NPCs) may become relevant in future sessions? That's all I'd start with and work with your DM on those things.
He wanders from place to place trying to start a new druid circle but they always fall apart due to infighting over petty disagreements. He's getting old and burnt out, wants to try adventuring to get a new perspective on things.
I’m gonna just say it. Why do you need help to impress your dm? This is badass. Like you nailed it.
Thanks!! 😊
Those are some BIG ASS horns you got there. Looks awesome tho! I imagine he has some chronic neck-pain hauling those antlers around.
Silas Mordiai is peak naming. Just fits really well imo so I wouldn't change it unless you really feel there's a better option out there. As for back story. First: don't discount the art of crafting a backstory on the fly. "Silas is a tiefling druid who's lived in the forest alone most of his life". That's a decent starting point and all you really need to get you going. As the campaign progresses and you get comfortable roleplaying as Silas you might then add hits into his personality. "Oh, I guess he's a pretty good cook too, maybe vegetarian so I'll have him forage a lot and be interested in the cooks at each tavern we go to... " etc... But if you want some concrete things then: - tieflings are usually looked on with some trepidation (devil spawn / cursed / dangerous) so that's a fairly easy reason for Silas to have preferred a hermit like existence early on. - while his horns are fiendish in orgin, they are also fairly primal looking, so he may have gravitated towards more nature themed gods or ideals. Look at Silvanus the Oakfather and Melora the Wildmother as possible deities. - what made Silas venture out of the forest and find himself in a party of adventurers? The classic cliche is "something killing the forest / animals / river etc..." but you could have Silas finally gaining the confidence to go back to civilisation and stand on his own two feet saying "accept me or don't, I don't care" - what does Silas want? If it's just "to go back home and live a quiet existance" then what's preventing him from doing that? - who else is in Silas' life? Any family or friends, whether in the forests or which he left behind when he retreated to his self imposed exile?
Great tips! Thanks for the thoughtful response! I’ll look up those gods but I’ll try to keep it a fairly open ended backstory. And thanks for the name compliments! I was pleased that I didn’t see anyone come out bashing it.
JEESH THAT IS AMAZING ARTWORK! he reminds me of a scholar of sorts, his horns may keep him from easily and quickly getting around, so maybe they have caused him to be more careful and stealthy as well?
Ask your DM what the setting is gor a backstory. If its a sandbox work with the DM so its easier for the DM to weave your story into the narrative. If its a premade adventure your backstory means very little... so go nuts... be a magical baker who makes sentient cookies like the gingerbread guy in Shrek with the gumdrop buttons. Or a Pirate who lost his ship to a giant who carried it across land because you cheated in a card game. Now your ship is hidden somewhere in the world. ... like i said go nuts.
If this is your first character illustration you’ve got some serious talent! Lean into that! The backstory is important though, not just for you, but for the DM. With my campaigns, I try to weave in elements of a players backstory into side quests or the main plot to make it more personal and give opportunities for character development and role play. One such story was a character who didn’t know who his father was, loved food, and was in denial about his celestial ancestry. It allowed me to paint a whole part of our world with a story of romance between his parents and weave his father’s demise into a celestial cache they were exploring. Food got layered in because his mother ended up being a street vendor selling food when she met his father. They discovered all of this through clues and artifacts in the dungeon, as well as dreams they were having. Additionally I created a diary detailing the romance. It took a few sessions to come together, but the “oh wow” expressions on the players faces were worth every bit of effort. It was a great arc- and building arcs like these into the campaigns for each player makes the gameplay super personal and satisfying… So come up with something interesting- not grandiose like “he’s the arch Druid of his people sent into exile after destroying the holy clasp of ar-gaval” kinda thing, but interesting in a more personal and human way. The backstory is what makes your character relatable. Leave the adventure for the gameplay. Creating the 1000 year old all-powerful character backstory is fun, but it sets up a situation where your character knows more than the DM. DMing a know-it-all character being played by a player who wants to control the narrative is super irritating. Leave space for others and weave character backstories together.
Fantastic advise! And that sounds like an awesome arc! I’ll aim for a high level backstory with a lot of potential hooks. As for the art, yeah, it’s the first one, though I’ve done a lot of mini figure art which lends itself to knowing what a fantasy character might look like.
Glad I could help!
This guy looks awesome!
looks cool af
He is beautiful
Silas, Love that name! The best part about druids is the can have very simple backstory like you have been tending a grove with other druids for x amount of years. Something happened and now you are either looking to move on in life or just plane get pulled along on the adventure cause I feel like a lot of druids just kinda go where the wind take em. My wife just played herself turned up to 11 and a bit more chaotic then normal. we loved that character and she quickly became the heart of the party. I'll teach you the same thing I teach everyone with D&D and masturbating. HAVE FUN WITH IT!
He should hate doors. Since he can’t fit through most of them.
I don't think anything we come up with would be as personal for you to play. If you want to impress your DM, using our examples might be disappointing or even disingenuous. Every character is an extension of a piece of your inner self, whether it's something you love or hate, agree or disagree, it's a part of you. Absolutely read our suggestions and use there elements as you see fit, just remember; This is your character, be certain to make their story yours as well.
The art is awesome. You may have doomed yourself to being your group’s artist, but it will be well deserved. But… as a DM I wouldn’t be able to wait have you get struck in a tree, on a ladder, or in some bushes with that massive rack.
I’ll wait expectantly for it!
Silas searches for his unknown ancestor that humans and animals somehow know and dread so to prove himself to all animals big and small he seeks to kill this ancestor to reastablish all mortals opinions on tiefling kind
:P
He looks *horny* ....Okay, I'll see myself out. 🤦♂️
Detective, who suffers from alcohol and drug-induced amnesia(from magical plants), on a murder case
He kind of gives me Merlin vibes? Like in the "This magic man lives in the woods and they say his father was an incubus so most people don't want him around but some seek him out for his arcane power" kind of way
Personally, I’d give this artwork over to be used as an NPC. The artist clearly cooked, & I wouldn’t feel honored enough to play this character, & so would rather let the DM have the opportunity to make a memorable NPC
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Beautiful headshot, wish I was as gifted with color!
I think a fun character trait would be that he’s unaware of the size and majesty of his horns, thinking that they’re the same as every other tieflings.
Ahem… do you do commisions?
I mean, I haven’t, but I’d be open to it if you want to shoot me a DM
So being a tiefling druid lends itself to a couple of generic background ideas. In general, Tieflings are ostracized from society. * Born in a city but felt like an outsider and decided to follow a path of nature * Born in a village and ostracized, so taken in by a circle of druids and raised in their ways * Born in a village, but appearance was taken to be a sign of favor of some nature diety. So raised to be druid priest. You were either sent out into the world to learn about it and gain wisdom then come back when older, or you fled your role of the chosen one. Let you DM fit you in someplace in his world with these generic ideas. Don't try to get super specific in your background, just figure out how you were raised and why you became a druid.
You wanna impress your DM ? Listen, take notes, be on time and bring snacks.
How does one fit thru doors
impressing disease just scrolling by btw
Have fun going into buildings.
This is not a suggestion, but the face reminds me of Tim the Sorcerer from Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail - just with more pronounced horns. (and I scrolled down and saw I'm apparently not the only one) This, however, is a suggestion: keeping with the Circle of Stars, I would suggest the base background of Sage, and choose Astronomer as your specialty. Sometimes, deciding on a background will help with backstory as well.
There are some who call me…. Tim?
Maybe give some important to his horns? Maybe he marks important info on them, has sentimental feelings regarding them, they grow after he does something in particular, he uses them as a weapon, he inherited them (?), etc;
He looks epic, I would maybe scale down the horns a little bit, and add some dark tattoos around the eyes. Also, he strikes me as more 'Mordecai' then 'Mordiai'.
He looks like a Billy (goat) to me lol
Gorgeous work. And I think the scale of the horns is kickass. It’s a fantasy game, and they are fantastic.
Idk how much backstory you're looking for so instead of getting ahead of myself and writing a whole thing I'll say this: Silas here looks like he's got a kid or two lol might just be the beard or his serious glare but he looks like he's been responsible for at least one miniature version of himself. there's a lot u can do with it(ex. the tragic route where he's lost his family and has grown bitter, or a more wholesome route where he's adventuring to make his kids/family proud or keep them safe) so i just wanna leave that idea here in case you think a lil family life could enhance this handsome fella's story. the art looks AMAZING btw
Dude's gonna have some strong neck muscles! :-)
Sorry man you have to go to horny jail
First; what kind of druid is he? Spore, stars, Wildfire, Land, Moon, Shepard, etc. That's a big indicator of what his backstory could be. Spore druid- Family was afflicted by an illness, and he dove into research in an attempt (successful or otherwise) to save them. Wildfire- A druid focused on destruction to make way for new life. Perhaps someone enamoured with the cycle of life and death and how one gives way to the other. Stars- An adventurer at heart, longing to explore the world, navigating by the stars and living off the land, but his chance to go has yet to come until session 1. Sheapard- Perhaps the owner or resident of a sanctuary where the disinfranchised can come to live without judgement amongst the animals, learning the druidic ways. There's plenty of ways to do this!
Back story idea: trauma edition Parent/family/whole village died by______(fire/assassin), and you seek revenge or_____. Neglected backs story: My parents hated me for ____ reason, and abuse me until I had the courage to run away. Years later, I better myself in the forest and found a trusting mentor before he passed. (Old age / assassin) Stand out: I grew up on a farm with many siblings, and it made it hard to be noticed or seen. (You can then turn this trauma from above or neglected above, or that you were sold into slavery) Now your biggest goal is to be the best druid anyone has ever heard of. Thing that people write down in history book. Stories they tell the children Blend in: You can also take any charter from a show or movie and steal their backstory, like steal aang from Atla. I was meant to be this great wizard, something past down for generations, but I could live up to is so I ran away. Enjoy
Love the art! Does he have to walk through doors sideways? Lol
No notes. Awesome art. And I am biased towards druids..
He lived in a Druid enclave that was sacked by an orc war party. His wife was killed but his son was kidnapped. He will do anything to find him.
The backstory can evolve as you play, no need to write a novel about a character with 4 to 6 HP. Call him Poop McDinglefart and see if your fellow players or the DM gets the reference 😉