| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sunderstone |
Posted - 09 Aug 2017 : 20:56:08
Bellas' Band always intrigued me because of their varying allignments and the ability to form an adventuring company and then rule Calaunt. I used them in a Dragon Reach campaign because of how eclectic they were.
I commissioned a painting with an artist and thought I would share.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ranazcm4zet22y2/Bellas%27%20Band.jpg?dl=0 |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Barastir |
Posted - 27 Aug 2018 : 11:57:56
A long, long time ago, in an edition far, far away:
Halflings come in all shades and with
the same variety of hair and eye color
as men. (...)
There seem to be no racial sub-groups
of Halflings, though to the far south
there is said to be a nation of the creatures,
called Lurien, whose inhabitants
have pointy ears.
OGB, p. 48
In 2e, there was some new info:
There seem to be only minor differences
between the three major subraces of halfling:
hairfeet, tallfellow, and stout. (Their
differences are as noted in the Player's Handbook.)
The subraces mix easily with each other and with
other races.
All of this comes before they changed the sub-races
names to ghostwise, lightfoot and strongheart (and
added new abilities). It seems halflings usually had
round ears, except for the Luiren ones. |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 24 Aug 2018 : 10:16:31
quote:
Originally posted by sno4wy
I've always been pretty torn about taking depictions of characters in official art to be how those characters are supposed to appear canonically. Sometimes, the images fit the descriptions that we're given very well, but other times, they range from not quite right to very not right. Sure, all of that stuff is vetted before publication, but my impression has been that not every artist, even artists specializing in fantasy illustrations, are necessarily a fan of the content that they're illustrating for, and as such probably don't know the material beyond the brief description they receive for their commissions. This is how we end up with paintings featuring pale-skinned Calishites and old men drow. ;P
The reason for the inconsistency could be blamed mostly on the Art Director. A large game corporation like Hasbro (Wizards of the Coast) will have an art director. The job is responsible for consistency in the published artwork. For example, I have read numerous times, that in 5th Edition D&D, the Art Directors were responsible for making sure that (regular variety) Orcs were portrayed as having somewhat grey skin, rather than Green-Martian skin.
Of course, this only applies to the TYPICAL standard variety Monster Manual Orc. A fiend-blooded Orc, a legendary chieftain, or even an Orog, or any special variant, would be exempt, and could thus potentially be green-skinned, red-skinned, purple-skinned, or Starbucks Unicorn Frapuccino skinned, or whatever the hell the artist felt was appropriate.
Going back to Halfling ears…. the inconsistency IMHO is merely a sloppy job, and poor oversight, by the Art Director.
The Art Director is literally the OVERSEER and Project Manager who is in charge of all artists and illustrators that publish their images to final publication print. When the Art Director is not doing their jobs properly, this is how we end up with puzzling inconsistencies (e.g. the Halfling ears).
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| sno4wy |
Posted - 24 Aug 2018 : 04:11:43
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast
I was also looking into this and found out…… there is no consistency.
In 5th Edition alone, the Halfling illustrations in the core rulebooks (DMG, PHB, etc) show some Halflings having semi-pointy ears, and at other times having non-pointy Human ears.
For my own 5E campaign, I attribute them with semi-pointed ears. The model illustration is the Halfling Bard (dancing on the tavern table) in the PHB:
http://www.rpgnoticias.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/DnD-5e-Race-Halfling.jpg
I've always been pretty torn about taking depictions of characters in official art to be how those characters are supposed to appear canonically. Sometimes, the images fit the descriptions that we're given very well, but other times, they range from not quite right to very not right. Sure, all of that stuff is vetted before publication, but my impression has been that not every artist, even artists specializing in fantasy illustrations, are necessarily a fan of the content that they're illustrating for, and as such probably don't know the material beyond the brief description they receive for their commissions. This is how we end up with paintings featuring pale-skinned Calishites and old men drow. ;P
Something as trivial as the shape of a halfling's ear may just cause the publishers to shrug and go eh, the rest of it is great, it's no big deal (especially if they're probably also uncertain about that detail). I mean, it isn't quite along the lines of when Ken Taylor gave Jarlaxle black hair and sideburns in his earlier incarnations of the illustration he did for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Nonetheless, it can be frustrating for those of us trying to figure out how they're supposed to look. Thus, I always look at the official art as a guideline as to what things look like, unless the artist is someone who also reads the material in depth. Todd Lockwood is probably my go-to artist when I want some help picturing the "official" image of something. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 24 Aug 2018 : 03:08:20
I thought Tallfellow Halflings had a touch of faerie/elf blood in them and had slightly pointed ears.
-- George Krashos |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 24 Aug 2018 : 01:53:45
quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
Also, what's the canon on halfling ears? Are they supposed to be pointed or rounded?
I was also looking into this and found out…… there is no consistency.
In 5th Edition alone, the Halfling illustrations in the core rulebooks (DMG, PHB, etc) show some Halflings having semi-pointy ears, and at other times having non-pointy Human ears.
For my own 5E campaign, I attribute them with semi-pointed ears. The model illustration is the Halfling Bard (dancing on the tavern table) in the PHB:
http://www.rpgnoticias.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/DnD-5e-Race-Halfling.jpg |
| sno4wy |
Posted - 20 Aug 2018 : 21:39:17
quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
Haflings have often be noted to tend to plumpness, but it's no more universal than an elven trend to arrogance or a dwarven trend to stubborness. And, of course, adventuring can easily serve to keep a person who'd otherwise tend to plumpness slim and lithe.
Well, regarding this, I'm just wondering if, for the very fit among halflings, whether their biology is such that they'd look roundish even if it said roundishness isn't due to fat accumulation.
For instance, dwarves tend to be stout and muscular. A dwarf who performs a lot of exercise trends towards being muscular in the stout way rather than the elven lithe way (and vice versa for elves). I know it's hard to say for certain since we're talking about a bunch of fictional races here but what I'm trying to figure out is... would it make sense for fit halflings to inherently look as different from fit humans as dwarves do (although perhaps not as much)? So, other than the obvious smaller stature, if you blew up an "average adventuring" halfling to an "average adventuring" human's height, assuming the same degree of fitness between the two specimens in question, can the proportions and body mass distributions look very different because of inherently different biologies? |
| Icelander |
Posted - 20 Aug 2018 : 21:07:57
quote:
Originally posted by sno4wy
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast
The small fellow slightly to the right. Is he supposed to be a Halfling? To me he looks more like a Goblin.
(Which is not too unusual, since even Goblins are now officially playable races in 5E).
I believe he's Pirithin Alagost. He didn't look much like a halfling to me either, aren't they supposed to tend to be plump, even if they follow professions (like adventuring) that would cause them to be in good shape?
Also, what's the canon on halfling ears? Are they supposed to be pointed or rounded?
Haflings have often be noted to tend to plumpness, but it's no more universal than an elven trend to arrogance or a dwarven trend to stubborness. And, of course, adventuring can easily serve to keep a person who'd otherwise tend to plumpness slim and lithe.
Maybe Pirithin Alagost lives on his nerves and lacks the relaxed joie de vivre commonly attributed to halflings. He not only lives among humans, he rules them, so maybe he's more like a human in lifestyle than a typical halfling.
As for pointy ears and not, I imagine it depends on sub-race. Stouthearts probably have rounded ears, like humans and dwarves, whereas lightfoot and ghostwise halflings are more likely to have fey-like pointed ears. |
| sno4wy |
Posted - 20 Aug 2018 : 20:58:27
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast
The small fellow slightly to the right. Is he supposed to be a Halfling? To me he looks more like a Goblin.
(Which is not too unusual, since even Goblins are now officially playable races in 5E).
I believe he's Pirithin Alagost. He didn't look much like a halfling to me either, aren't they supposed to tend to be plump, even if they follow professions (like adventuring) that would cause them to be in good shape?
Also, what's the canon on halfling ears? Are they supposed to be pointed or rounded? |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 20 Aug 2018 : 10:23:38
The small fellow slightly to the right. Is he supposed to be a Halfling? To me he looks more like a Goblin.
(Which is not too unusual, since even Goblins are now officially playable races in 5E). |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 20 Aug 2018 : 10:03:24
That is an impressive commissioned painting, I must say. I also, as a past GM have paid for commissioned illustrations of key NPCs in a long-running campaign, and at least once gifted one of my talented Players a commissioned drawing of her own favorite PC. But I searched and searched for very affordable artists at the time. If I recall, I paid only around $30 to $50 per Character illustration at the time (early 2000s). The key is finding GOOD artists who state that they are doing character portraits mainly for "practice" and fun. Still, some of the PC/NPC images I got were nearly professional quality.
The artists that already have lucrative JOBS being paid by companies like Paizo and WotC are the professional illustrators that rarely have time for commissions, and if they do, they will surely charge hundreds of dollars for their awesome character illustrations.
Some places to look for these artists: Deviantart, CGSociety, and Artstation. Others may be found on the forums of BGG, and even Reddit, but searching for relevant artists is painful as you also have to filter through hundreds of other topics unrelated to gaming or RPGs in general.
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| Icelander |
Posted - 17 Aug 2018 : 17:17:25
Incidentally, my players absolutely loathe Calaunt, its government and everyone from there. We've been playing the same campaign from ca 2004 (here on Earth) and the PCs have lived in Ravens Bluff since about 2006-2008.
Calaunt doesn't have the best reputation in the Bluff and the PCs have met the occasion merchant, rogue, knight or knave from there. As I recall, less-than-honourable persons from Calaunt have been responsible for a theft or two, an underhanded scheme or another and some unpleasantness like cheating in a tourney and a few murders. In fairness, though, over fourteen years of gaming, it's not as if the PCs haven't met murderers and rogues from more or less every city and land in Faerun. I doubt Calaunt has been overrepresented, for its population and proximity.
I think the ire stems from their one (and so far only) visit to Calaunt, to date. It was made in 1371 DR or 1372 DR, some time in the first eight years of real time of play, and the players were incensed at arbitrary and unfair docking fees, corrupt harbourmasters, open discrimination between local merchants and foreign ones and the rumours they'd heard about anything from sneakthieves to curses being likely to relieve foreign magic-users of their wealth, spellbooks and magical treasures.
The gargoyles that tried to rob them were really the straw that broke the camel's back. Especially when they ignored local drunks and footpads to attack only the PCs, seemingly well aware where any valuable magic was stored on their ship. As I recall, some of the Teeth of Calaunt, and/or some watchmen/guardsmen in service of the harbourmaster had tried to disarm the PCs and provided a distraction while the gargoyles attacked, secure in the knowledge that gargoyles never attack locals who haven't offended the Merchant Dukes.
The PCs slaughtered the gargoyles, probably some armed men as well, and set a number of artillery pieces on fire as they raced out of the harbour. Cut the harbour chain, too. And haven't gone back, but swore that one day they would, and that day the Merchant Dukes and anyone involved in their corrupt regime would rue the day.
They've been busy since. The end of college slowed the frenetic pace of gaming (20+ hours a week have gone down to maybe 4-8 hours a month), so each month of game time can now take a year or more of real time to play through (it's been 1373 DR in my campaign since all my players were fancy-free, now the players have a combined total of five children). Still, Calaunt is very much marked down on a list and it's not the 'nice' list. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 17 Aug 2018 : 16:53:58
Wow!
This is awesome.
I see that the FR Wiki has individual pictures of some, but not all of Bellas' Band, taken from this larger painting. Would it be possible to get downloads with portraits of the missing ones? |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 17 Aug 2017 : 03:54:49
Oh wow. That's an impressive piece and really brings the characters to life.
I'm currently running an adventure in Calaunt, though given my lean towards humour the city's become more Ankh-Morpork (Duke Iritar would make a good Vetinari). :D Bellas's Band are older and wiser, bitter and weary at running such a corrupt city. Some enjoy being tyrants, others struggle to improve the system. They've gone their separate ways but are still bound together and are caught up in political rivalry and raising families.
The PCs just met Haldyn, but I had a hard time picturing just how big he'd be. But age and size left him broken before his time, leaning on a walking staff. |
| Sunderstone |
Posted - 17 Aug 2017 : 01:40:51
This is the Artist's art station page.
https://www.artstation.com/willhsiang |
| Adhriva |
Posted - 09 Aug 2017 : 21:12:58
Quite a bit I'm willing to bet. My conservative guess is at $600, but I'd honestly price it closer to $750 or $800 USD. It's a solid painting. If you zoom up you can see a lot of the brushwork is a technique often used for speed painting and the lines aren't strictly crisp except in the facial features and other focus areas. The large painting size suites the technique well and means the finer details can be glossed over or hinted at. The artist has a good economy of brushwork going on; I'm loving this illustration. :D Thanks for sharing it! |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 09 Aug 2017 : 20:59:47
Just curious, how much does someone charge for a service like that? |
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