Class sketches

Xith

So I did these 3 about a year ago, but just got around to scanning them. The idea was I might sketch every class and mash them together in a collage, but I stopped using pencils at work, so no more.

Started with this Magi:

Cataclysm.

Then this Shaman:

The totem as it should look. Complete with a curse and a doll.

And this masked jester:

He's either using PUPPET BREAK ARMS or PUPPET COMMAND DISCO FEVER.

There was a serpent in the works but didn't go far on that one. And the priest I did was in pen and ended up looking hilarious.

Averi

puppet command disco fever should totally be a thing. 

Kresslack

I don't think totems would look like sticks though. Otherwise doesn't make sense the Prop message would indicate straining to hold up a staff, or implanting/uprooting would be some difficult. I've always seen totems as like fenceposts you drag around with you with runes sketched on them.

Sena

Totems are ~5 feet tall, not very thick, and weigh about 30 pounds.

Xith

Which works great in a text game where everything's made up and the physics don't matter, but I don't know how to draw a combatant with a 30 pound fencepost. Like those 30 pound bastard swords that teenage boys wield in anime.

Kresslack

Sena said:

Totems are ~5 feet tall, not very thick, and weigh about 30 pounds.

Yes, so the descriptions indicate.

Delphinus

@Sena: Eh. I've always envisioned it as a scaled-down totem pole with runes instead of animals, rather than a trail marker. Weight, like weather, is often hit-or-miss in Achaea.

Sena

I think the weight fits pretty well with how I've always pictured totems. A 5 foot long oak (wood comms are described as oak, and leather is about the same weight as oak, which works out nicely) pole that weighs 30 pounds would have about a 4-6 inch diameter. A scaled-down totem pole could reasonably fit within that as well.

Delphinus

You're right. I wasn't considering that 30 pounds is still fairly substantial.

Xith

Just not something that every runelorist could carry around without always holding it. Looks like my Shaman would be slightly taller than this pole if he stood up.

I always took "strains to hold up" to mean that it would fall over without his support, which a skinny object would do. But you could potentially balance something with a 6 inch base, especially if 5 feet tall.

Sena

Xith said:

I always took "strains to hold up" to mean that it would fall over without his support, which a skinny object would do. But you could potentially balance something with a 6 inch base, especially if 5 feet tall.

What if it has a rounded/pointed/tapered base (for easier implanting maybe), or it's just really top-heavy?

And for parrying, you sort of stay behind it and use it as a shield, rather than swinging it around.

Edit: Or because magic. More specifically, maybe the earth magic used in totems causes it to be unstable if it isn't properly bound to the earth, even if it should be able to stand on its own.

Xith

It's all very confusing. Seems like everyone pictures a different totem.

I'll take a survey when I produce Achaea: The Movie.

Delphinus

Xith said:

Just not something that every runelorist could carry around without always holding it. Looks like my Shaman would be slightly taller than this pole if he stood up.

I always took "strains to hold up" to mean that it would fall over without his support, which a skinny object would do. But you could potentially balance something with a 6 inch base, especially if 5 feet tall.

The straining is probably due, at least in part, to the pure earth magic coursing through it.

Really, if there's a pole referred to as a "totem," most people are going to think "totem pole." That's unavoidable and probably intended.

Iocun

Or perhaps all runies and shamans are clumsy and bad at balancing stuff.

It makes sense because if they weren't clumsy and were good at balance stuff they would be acrobats and join the circus and see the world and every child would admire them.