For D&D presently I’m borrowing from this older, more arctic design I never really got to play at length. A Moby Dick Queequeg type orc. Large, tattooed beefcake carrying a harpoon / spear.
The present campaign is very pirate-themed. This new character Iosefa is a fisherman from an island fishing village, aiming for the Queequeg inspiration again. It’s 5th Edition and we started characters at Level 3 so I needed to pick a Barbarian variant from the player’s manual to play and I wanted him to have good swimming abilities so he’s Totem of the Orca and can can ritual spellcast for unencumbered movement in water, breathing underwater, etc. More importantly the aim is to channel that yacht body-slamming energy. DM was feeling out an Aquaman vibe and a Roman gladiator retiarius aesthetic, so he also has a net and a magic conch.
I reckon I’ll continue to have fun designing and redesigning the tattoos, I could even directly illustrate gameplay scenes in the tats as I go. Alternately there’s opportunity to set up visual details in anticipation of narrative or character dialogue. (See sexy mermaid below)
