#28 - Peter Jennings - ScoutI Have A Definite Soft Spot For Peter Jennings. When I Was A Kid, He Was

#28 - Peter Jennings - Scout I have a definite soft spot for Peter Jennings. When I was a kid, he was my Edward R. Murrow, the epitome of respect, trustworthiness, and class. In many ways, seeing him doing the news every night really kindled my interest in history, politics, and current events. As a reporter, Mr. Jennings was a pretty impressive guy; a high school dropout, he rose through the ranks to become one of the big three newscasters of the 1980s and 90s. Personally, though, I think the best work Mr. Jennings did was as a foreign correspondent. He cut a dashing figure in a tan vest, and his utter unflinchability was amazing. Its this skill in unfamiliar terrain that led me to cast Mr. Jennings in the role of Scout. Though more common to Real-Time Strategy than RPGs, the Scout tends to be a fast, frail character, sort of a midpoint between the Ranger and the Rogue, and often uses terrain-based skills.

05 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Kishin Family, Part 2 - Kishin Eriu

Prominent goddess of early Irish mythology, Eriu was one of a triumverate of goddesses who represented the land itself. The name “Eriu” is actually the old word for Ireland, though these days she is more commonly called Erin.

Eriu is one of those goddesses whose actual history has been muddled by conversion and absorption by dozens of cults and religions throughout history. She has been portrayed as the lover of Fomorian prince Elatha, the mistress of Lugh, and the wife of Mac Greine, all likely attempts by one group or another to “claim” Ireland as their own through the lens of mythology.

These days, Eriu actually contends with several other mythological figures for representation of Ireland in the public consciousness. Hibernia, Tom Swift, and Kathleen Ni Houlihan are just a few of the characters fighting for possession of this particular piece of mental real estate, but I feel like Eriu has an edge by virtue of having been around the longest. As such, she claims Ireland’s spot in the Kishin family, and ends up pretty solidly in the middle.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our Data File, right over (here).

04 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Deity Family, Part 1 - Deity Cupid

Surprise, two Deities in one month! Blame February for being so packed with interesting stories. ^^

The god of desire and affection, Cupid’s modern interpretation is both surprisingly close to and far from his ancient sources. The ancient Romans saw him as their own version of the Greek Eros, son of the goddess of love, a troublesome young man whose only weakness was his own love-inducing arrows. As Christianity replaced the Roman pantheon, Cupid was re-interpreted as being symbolic of both heavenly and earthly love, a niche he occupied even as Renaissance painters transformed him from a lithe young man to a chubby, rosy-cheeked baby. 

Cupid entered the modern mythological lexicon as the embodiment of Valentine’s Day. There is a legend that Saint Valentine, who was a bishop in pre-Christian Rome, would wear an amethyst ring engraved with Cupid; a message to Christian couples that he was a priest and could marry them without arousing Roman suspicion. 

Thanks to this association, Cupid survived the destruction of the Roman pantheon and entered modern cultural mythology. All of this works out quite well for Cupid; he’s more or less lucked into one of the most powerful families in the Compendium. If nothing else, this disturbingly chubby man-baby would have access to powerful Charm-based status effects and a signature attack in Cupid’s Arrow.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our big honkin’ Data File, right over (here).

Thank You!

Now that the 30 characters challenge is over, I find I've got a surplus of artistic ambition. Which is awesome, 'cos that's the whole reason I started doing it in the first place!

At any rate, I'm going to try to do a theme every month from now on, but since this blog was only meant to archive work from the 30 characters challenge, I thought it'd be a good idea to start a new one. So if you're interested in the further adventures of "stick it in a blender and art what comes out," take a wander over to http://thematicconversion.tumblr.com/ and enjoy. ^^

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who followed/liked/reblogged/threw kittens at my artistic fumblings this month. You're all awesome. :D

#27 - Irma Grese - Dark Hunter I actually waffled back and forth quite a bit on whether or not to include this particular nutjob in the project, buuuuut... Well, for a start, she’s a Nazi, and by all accounts, a rather sadistic one. But she was sadistic in such a stereotypical, almost comically Nazi way. Y’see, Irma was an officer stationed at a concentration camp, and apparently liked to wander around the place wearing heavy boots and carrying a whip. Throw in a bass-heavy soundtrack and she could’ve been a BDSM film, albeit a particularly tasteless one. I mean, her nickname was “the Beautiful Beast,” which is one step away from being a professional wrestler. Although I normally try to pick broadly used classes, in this case, the Dark Hunter was just such a perfect fit that I couldn’t help but choose it. Dark Hunters are unique to the Etrian Odyssey series, where they perform the role of status mage and debuffer, using swords and whips to inflict status effects and restrict the enemy’s movements. They have a very serious BDSM vibe, being clad in mostly leather; heck, their strongest attack -- which can only be used when the enemy is completely restricted -- is called Ecstasy. I guess that’s why it’s such a good fit for Irma here; they’re both a bit on the nose. ^^;

02 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Deity Family, Part 1 - Femme Pig-Faced Woman

One of many old legends that have limped, nearly dead, into the present day, the Pig-Faced Woman got its start far back in the mists of time. Tales of women with pig faces go back to the middle ages, and the fundamental story goes something like this; A man of wealth and privilege searches the land far and wide for a suitable bride. He searches towns across the land for a woman with all the skills of a perfect wife, but finds them all lacking. As he travels to a new town, he meets a woman by the side of a road. Her face is covered, but he speaks to her, and eventually finds that she meets every qualification. However, she will not show her face. Despite this, the man eventually decides to make her his wife. When they return to his home, he removes her shawl and finds that she has the face of a pig.

From here, the stories diverge. In the older version, the woman claims to have been cursed by a witch. She says she can either be beautiful when alone with him but a pig to the public, or a pig while they are alone and a glamorous wife in public. The man waffles, saying he cannot possibly decide, and eventually throws up his hands and says, “You should decide for yourself!” Whereupon the curse is broken, as the man had finally given his wife what women truly want; the right to choose their own destiny.

The newer version of the story, which dates from Victorian times, is less pleasant. The 18th and 19th centuries are full of tales of disfigured women, hiding alone in Gothic mansions, seen only by frightened butlers and whatnot. These tales eventually gave rise to a popular series of sideshow attractions, which featured bears, shaved bald and put in dresses, labeled “Come see the Pig-Faced Woman!” Thankfully, animal cruelty laws eventually stamped these sideshows out.

Personally, I really like the old version of this story. It appears in everything from Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale to Parzival, and is almost shockingly Feminist for the time period. These days, stories of the Pig-Faced Woman have largely gone the way of the dodo, which accounts for this demon’s extremely low level.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our extensive Data File, right over (here)!