Mcdm - Blog Posts
Meet Bags!
She’s my OC for The Chain of Acheron, and she’s pretty much me…
Some info: Bags was born in Khoursir, grew up there and was part of the local guard for a while. Then things happened as they do and… hey, look, The Chain of Acheron! Upon hearing that she wanted to join, her new fellows welcomed her into their ranks and quickly learned that she’s a bit of a worrier. Due to this, she carries a wide range of equipment in her backpack, satchels, belt pouches, etc… and she doesn’t sleep particularly well. One bleary morning, dark circles around her eyes and bags beneath, the Helltroopers gave her a new name: Bags! As a welcoming gift, they also gave her an instrument: an old set of bagpipes that a former member had left behind a while ago. It was probably a joke at first, but she took it up quickly and puts her skills to use as often as she needs to.
So Bags is a human bard!
Thanks to @wojtekbc for making a very helpful little moodboard that got the first aesthetic ideas going.
Another Helltrooper (last from me i promise)
Mark (not his real name)
a new recruit, a Riojan man with messy short-ish black hair and a close cropped beard, seems to be in his late 30s. He is an excellent archer and not bad swordsman either. He loves to play cards and other gambling games with the rest of the helltroopers (though he mostly loses); though hes a pretty calm guy and takes his losses in stride. He spends a lot of time learning and practicing chain sign, and seems to be picking it up quickly. He can read pretty well although he mostly cares about books on Caelian engineering, architecture, and warfare. It’s clear to the other members that he has served in some military capacity previously based on how he carries himself (and sometimes slips up and give the Riojan salute) but never brings it up-that life is gone now. He doesn’t talk much outside of the increasingly frequent use of chain sign and other simple gestures and emoting.
Hes joined up with a mercenary company because part of him missed service and the opportunity for gold; and the chain specifically because chain sign and the chronicle were a great interest to him.
Were he to be a player character he would be a human fighter (probably battlemaster) with the solider background
sketches of the LADS!!!
(Paisley @wojtekbc, Mint @ me, Hawthorn @fisyx, Hops @zarozinia, Footpad @xynnos, Beebee @the-zoa)
Chain of Acheron, Helltrooper Match.
“You see the docks on fire??”
> “I mean, technically yeah, but I also found the kid’s dog :D”
Okay so I spent more time on this than I had intended, but everyone meet Match!
half-elf sorcerer, rank-and-file soldier
5′8″, they/them
chaotic good
has a tendency to accidentally set things on fire hence the nickname ‘Match’
always has good intentions though!
is not allowed to light candles using the firebolt anymore
joined the Chain because they needed to quickly disappear after accidentally setting a noble’s house alight, stayed because they like the people
thinks they are smooth but is actually just a huge dork
always holds a match between their teeth because they think it looks Cool and Edgy™
Yesterday’s Eyeliner™
calls everyone darling
tries to play it smooth and aloof but will immediately melt at the slightest bit of affection
11/10 would squeeze Bigcat on sight because b i g c a t
(close-ups on my instagram: paper.shield.illustrations)
Chain of Acheron, Helltrooper Hawthorn “Tha plan? Don’t die, and tha least bloodied buys drinks.”
Stout, loud and spiky best describes this Khemharan Desert Dwarf. Hailing from the eastern side of the Granite Mountains, Hawthorn was formerly part of the shock troopers known as the Khoragad, or Dust Devils (or Cactus Men, but don’t say that in front of him). He and his flails would tear through the battlefield and none could ignore him.
He joined the Chain a while back, towards the beginning of Ajax’s conquest of Khemhara. Doesn’t do well with plans, prefers the tried and true method of “whack it until it falls over,” or, the true Dwarven way. Likely didn’t make it onto the Rosso Cielo because, uhhhh, who travels by water?
He will have to, eventually, but he isn’t going to like it.
Has strong opinions on stoneworking (sandstone or it’s not worth it) and ale (cactus based), but is otherwise quite civilized. Just… Don’t stand to close to him in a fight. And close is a relative term.
In game terms he’s absolutely a Mountain Dwarf Battlerager barbarian. I like the idea that despite the obvious cactus imagery, when he joined the Chain, it was mostly Vaslorians who hadn’t ever seen a cactus before, so they called him their spiky plant (they weren’t going to call him rose, that’s for sure).
I was having a hard time thinking of him, but then suddenly he came to me all at once and now I desperately need to do something with him.
“See? It all turned out in the end. What do you mean, ‘stealth operation?’”
Chain of Acheron, Helltrooper Granddad. “Yet here I am.” Vanirman Dwarf Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian). LN. Exiled skald from Vanigar. Joined the Chain to see the world in his later years. A grouch with a sailor’s vocabulary: truly a heart of morale for the lads he serves with. Rallied a few Helltroopers as Blackbottom fell. He would have been content with a good death at Blackbottom, but that didn’t happen. Now he’s responsible for getting these formidable boys and girls back to the company. In the past week, he has taken to writing down the deeds of his solemn band of Helltroopers. The others see it as sentimental, he believes it to be a priority that their story isn’t lost. Sings the epics of Vanirmen heroes of old. Jokingly sings of the mundane deeds of his fellow Helltroopers. Built like a brick shithouse. An oldboy. He’s been around for a while, and though everyone knows how long he’s been with the Chain, he’ll joke to recruits that he is the longest serving member. This one’s for you @krunk-mcdunk please don’t slay me now.
Helltrooper Breeze
“I go where the wind takes me. And for now, she keeps me with you.”
Breeze is a CG half elf druid of the land (forest probably). She joined up with the Chain of Acheron when they were contracted in Farrow. She was grateful for their change of heart in attacking her people and joined after learning of their travels from some of the rank and file members. Breeze is guided by her wanderlust more than anything, as well as her need to explore and learn. She feels as though she has much to learn about life, so joining the Chain was a way of learning about how the world works outside of the small community she grew up in.
She actually planned to leave the Chain in Blackbottom, she had already said her goodbyes for the most part before they arrived there, but promised to stay for one more drink before she went on her way. And then Ajax happened and it all went to shit. I imagine she ran to find the Chain as soon as she saw the floating city, and would have helped in the evacuation of Blackbottom in any way she could. She’s also probably joining some other Chain soldiers on the journey to Capital.
I’m an absolute sucker for found family tropes and Breeze is absolutely the type to be ride or die for people who care about her. I imagine that people gave her the nickname Breeze once they saw how little she actually plans and just *does things*, as though going along with wherever the breeze takes her. No one really believes she’ll actually stay with the Chain for that long, but she’s here for now and she’s loyal enough. She’s young and easily excitable, and while she has little life experience, she’s fairly insightful and knows people. Also probably knows more things about berries than how cities work (we love a feral druid in this house okay). She’s a bit of a hoarder too, but of like, leaves, flowers and pinecones. Keeps all she can in a little notebook she has.
Tl:dr she’s an air sign for sure, would have a aesthetic blog if she could, tumblr witch vibes, has eaten leaves to make people think she’s feral so they leave her alone and would 1000% die for the Chain of Acheron because this is her family damn it! She belongs, for once in her life, in this rag tag mercenary company, and she’s not about to let that go anymore. Even if she has to fist fight Ajax, she will do it to protect her family.
Chain of Acheron, Helltrooper Paisley. “Sometimes the only way to win is to not play at all.” Riojan Human Illusionist. NG. Raised in Capital. Just his luck that he’d be dragged back. Spellbook is half old notes, half trial and error. Lucky that he was born Riojan, because at least he can poke some holes in people when his parlour tricks don’t work. Joined the Chain to distance himself from who he was in Capital. Stuck in Vasloria, looking for a) more surviving Helltroopers and b) a captain who’s not too fond of Ajax and is willing to cross the Bale Sea. One heckin’ lanky boi. Singer, Art Snob Extraordinaire . Wore a stupid fucking scarf the day he joined and now its a Signature Look and he Can’t Escape It. Big Older Brother Energy. >”I swear, you should have seen my swordsmanship when I was a young man!” >Is still a young man. Includes the Khoursirian Demon of Fog in his prayers; spent too much time with that mystic not to at least say thanks. Radiating Aura of Self Confidence (Unique Riojan Passive) I don’t do moodboards, but since I’m not an artist and I felt like giving some rough notes on the aesthetic I thought why not. So I was going to type out a huge chunk of backstory I had for this character, but then I realied a) that wouldn’t be fun to read or write and b) it was kind of missing the point to write about small details of who he was before, because Helltroopers leave that behind. Anyway, to those who know me it won’t be a surprise that this character is an Illusionist, seeing as that is my favourite class/subclass. The name “Paisley” for a Wizard, and even some of the broader strokes to the backstory, were bouncing around in my head for months before the Chain, but there was something about reading Matt’s document he gave the players for their character creation that made me go “Oh fuck, there’s so much that works in this,” so this is what took form, really. The concept of an Illusionist being told by loved ones to leave a Machiavellian city of the Great Game to deprive any player of a potential piece has kind of stuck with me as a PC idea for a while, and Capital is 100% the kind of thing I was imagining.
hey I LOVE watching the chain of acheron
bonus, a reference to the worldbuilding streams:
Spent the morning listening to MCDM’s campaign premiere! It was really intense!!!!
My thanks to Anna for gifting us with this Sassy Evil Boi. 10/10, would praise Asmodeus under his intimidating gaze.
I love the way capital has been set up as like, broadly speaking, a normal city with crazy magic shit just beneath the surface. Matt has played that perfectly to create that contrast and highlight how an ordinary human wouldn’t notice anything strange about their city but adventurers can find ancient catacombs and monsters under a library.
I think if I were running it I’d play that idea up far more such as having it be normal sized and less alien races out in the open but create the atmosphere that in any shadow there could be 3 drow hanging out, Tieflings are only found in the hardest to find clubs and bars, back allys that don’t exist on maps etc.
@hubbleablubble we all love you and this is insane Chain OCs on stream I’m still smiling. We made it lads we worldwide now. Hawthorn, Paisley, Hops, Mint and Footpad the lads. @fisyx @xynnos @zarozinia
